SupremeToday Landscape Ad
Back
Next
Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation
Listen Audio Icon Pause Audio Icon
judgment-img

2010 Supreme(All) 1406

[2010(6) ADJ 119 (LB)]
ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT
(Lucknow Bench)
BEFORE : RAJIV SHARMA, J.
M/s. NEW INDIA SUGAR MILLS ...Revisionist
Versus
STATE OF U.P. AND OTHERS ....Respondents
(Civil Revision Nos. 34, 35 and 36 of 2010, decided on 23rd April, 2010)

Advocates:
Counsel :
Kesri Nath Tripathi, Umesh Chandra, Rakesh Dwivedi, Sudeep Kumar, Pankaj Bhagwat, Mukesh Prasad for the Revisionist; R.N. Trivedi, Piyush Agarwal for the Respondents.

Headnote:(A) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Section 115—Revision—Maintainability of—Section 115 of Code deals with the revisions and confers supervisory power on the High Court, which could be exercised even at an interlocutory stage prior to the judgment. [Para 20]

       (B) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Section 115—Revisional jurisdiction—Exercising of—High Court is fully empowered to exercise revisional jurisdiction under Section 115 of C.P.C., if subordinate Court committed illegality or material irregularity in passing order. [Para 22]

       (C) Company—Amalgamation—Effect of—Amalgamation company losses its entity after merger. [Para 60]

       (D) Amalgamation—Company—Juristic personality—Upon amalgamation or merger, transferor company would stood dissolved and it would lost its juristic personality. [Para 76]

       (E) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Section 115, Order VI, Rule 17, Order XXVI, Rule 9 & 10-A—Order VII, Rule 17 read with Section 151—Revision—Maintainability of—Against order of trial Court—Trial Court failed to exercise the jurisdiction and committed irregularity in postponing the issue to be decided later on, while allowing application for the amendment and appointment of commissioner for measurement of distance between two sugar mills—Since M/s. Saraya Sugar Mills Ltd. merged with another company lost its legal entity, hence, amendment application could not be moved—On facts, impugned order passed on applications under Order VI, Rule 17, Order XXVI, Rules 9 and 10-A and Order VII, Rule 11 read with Section 151, liable to set aside. [Paras 75 to 78]

       Result; Revision Allowed.

       

Judgement Key Points

Key Points: - The High Court discusses maintainability of revisions under Section 115 CPC and its applicability to interlocutory orders (paras discussing maintainability and jurisdiction) (!) (!) . - The judgment analyzes the impact of merger/dissolution of a company (Saraya Sugar Mills Ltd.) on its legal personality and status as a party in ongoing litigation, referencing SICA/BIFR schemes and the transfer of assets/liabilities post-merger (!) (!) (!) (!) - (!) . - It concludes that the transferor company ceased to exist as a separate legal entity after merger and that continuing litigation by a dead/non-existent entity is not permissible; the revision is allowed to set aside the impugned orders on this basis (merger effect) (!) (!) - (!) .

How to determine maintainability of revisions under Section 115 CPC at an interlocutory stage?

What is the effect of corporate merger/dissolution on a party's capacity to prosecute or defend a suit?

What is the appropriate remedy where a plaintiff/transferor company loses legal entity due to merger under SICA/BIFR schemes?


JUDGMENT

Hon’ble Rajiv Sharma, J.—Heard Sri Kesri Nath Tripathi, Sri Umesh Chandra, Sri Rakesh Dwivedi, Senior Advocates, assisted by Sri Sudeep Kumar, Pankaj Bhagwat, Mukesh Prasad, learned Counsel for the revisionist and Sri R.N. Trivedi, Senior Advocate, assisted by Sri Piyush Agarwal, learned Counsel for the respondents. Counsel for the parties jointly submitted that the contesting parties are before the Court and as such the issuance of notice to opposite parties Nos. 1 to 3 be dispensed with and the revisions be decided finally at the admission stage itself. Accordingly, as consented by the Counsel for the parties, issuance of notice to the opposite parties Nos. 1 to 3 is dispensed with and the matter is disposed of finally at the admission stage itself.

2. Aforementioned all the three civil revisions have been filed under Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure assailing the common orders dated 29.3.2010 whereby the application preferred in Regular Suit No. 1192 of 2008, by opposite party No. 4 under Order VI Rule 17 and under Order XXVI Rule 9 and 10-A of the Code of Civil Procedure were allowed whereas the application preferred by the Revisionist-defendant under Order I Rule 1, Order VII Rule 11 read with Rule 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure was rejected.

3. As all the aforesaid civil revisions arise out of the order dated 29.3.2010 passed in Regular Suit No. 1192 of 2008 on the aforesaid three individual applications by the Trial Court and the common question of law is involved, therefore, all the revisions are being decided by a common order.

4. Draped in brevity, the facts of the case are that the M/s. New India Sugar Mills-Revisionist is a unit of the Oudh Sugar Mills Limited, a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 with its registered office at Hargaon, District Sitapur. After the notification issued by the Central Government deleting Sugar Industry from Section 11 of the Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951, the Revisionist filed an Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum (IEM) expressing it’s intention to set-up a sugar industrial undertaking at village Dhadha Buzurg, Tehsil Hata, District Kushinagar, U.P. which was registered vide IEM NO. 830/SIA/IMO/2005. On an application of the revisionist for measuring the distance between the respondent’s sugar Mill and the proposed site of the revisionist’s unit, the Survey of India issued a certificate No. T-449/18-B-7(b) dated 19.4.2005 in favour of the Revisionist, indicating therein the distance from the site wherein the proposed sugar factory is to be set-up as 16.2. Kms from the factory of opposite party No. 4. The aforesaid distance was re-confirmed by Survey of India, Lucknow, on the request of the Additional Cane Commissioner, Lucknow, and as the distance was found to be 16.2 KM between the two units, necessary permission was granted by the Cane Commissioner for setting up of a sugar unit by the Revisionist and consequently, the construction work started.

5. Thereafter, the cane reservation order dated 27.10.2007 was passed by the Cane Commissioner for the crushing season 2007-08 with a liberty to the opposite party No. 4-M/s. Saraya Sugar Mills Limited to continue to lift the sugarcane from the reserved/assigned area of the Revisionist company till the lifting of cane for crushing by the revisionist unit. As provided in the said order, the opposite party No. 4 had lifted the sugarcane from the reserved/assigned area of the Revisionist company for crushing the same during the said crushing season.

6. Subsequently, the opposite party No. 4- M/s. Saraya Sugar Mills Limited moved an application for measuring the distance between its unit and that of the revisionist’s proposed unit and issuance of distance certificate in respect thereof which was issued on 2.9.2008 by the Survey of India wherein the distance between the factory of the opposite party No. 4 and that of Revisionist has been shown to be less than 15 kms. In the background of the f




























































































































































































































































































Click Here to Read the rest of this document

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
SupremeToday Portrait Ad
supreme today icon
logo-black

An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers

Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance

qr

Scan Me!

India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!

For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :

whatsapp-icon telegram-icon
whatsapp-icon Back to top