ORAL ORDER

1. The Official Liquidator has filed the present report with following prayers:--

(A) “This Hon’ble Court may be pleased to permit the Official Liquidator to set apart and invest the ex-gratia amount proposed herein for each of the twelve (12) Company Paid Staff in separate term deposits from the Common Pool Fund, the details whereof are specified in paragraph (13) above, or such other amount as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit.

(B) This Hon’ble Court may further be pleased to direct that the said ex-gratia amount, together with interest accrued thereon, shall be released to the concerned Company Paid Staffs upon superannuation or, in the event of death, to his / her legal heirs, or at the time of closure of the Office of the Official Liquidator, whichever event occurs first provided that no such payment shall be made to any staff who is under suspension, or in respect of whom any inquiry or disciplinary proceeding for misconduct or corruption is pending or has resulted in a finding of guilt.

(C) Such other and further orders and directions as this Hon’ble Court may consider just and appropriate may also be passed.”

2. Heard Ld. Panel Advocate Ms. Bhoomi Thakore along-with the Official Liquidator, Ms. Thakore, apprised that the Office of the Official Liquidator has two categories of employees. The first category of the employees who are appointed against the post sanctioned by the Government of India, Ministry of Corporate Affairs. They are recruited in accordance with the procedure prescribed in the rules framed under proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution of India.

3. The second category comprise of the persons employed/ engaged by the Official Liquidator pursuant to the sanction accorded by the concerned Hon’ble High Court under Rule 308 and 309 of the Companies (Court) Rules, 1959. The employees falling in this category are described as Company Paid Staff (Company Paid Staffs), and their salaries are drawn from the Common Pool Fund maintained by the Official Liquidator. She further submitted that as reflected in the record, 12 such personnel, particulars of whom are already on record in the Report, have rendered long and continuous service exceeding 17–20 years. The details of Staff as reflected in the Official Liquidator’s report is given as below:

4. Ms. Thakore, Ld. Panel Advocate, apprised that with the coming into force of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, and transfer of winding-up jurisdiction to the National Company Law Tribunal under the Transfer of Proceedings Rules, the Office of the Official Liquidator may be phased out upon completion of pending liquidation matters.

5. Ms. Thakore, Ld. Panel Advocate, further submitted that representations have been received from the Company Paid Staff stating that, unlike Central Government employees, they are not entitled to any statutory pensionary or terminal benefits, except gratuity and leave encashment, and upon cessation of the establishment they may stand without any residual welfare cover.

6. Ms. Thakore, Ld. Panel Advocate, further apprised that the Hon’ble High Courts of Calcutta, Delhi, and Punjab & Haryana have, in comparable circumstances, permitted limited ex-gratia welfare disbursements to Company Paid Staff of respective Official Liquidator establishments.

7. Ms. Thakore, Ld. Panel Advocate submitted that on receipt of the representations from the company paid staffs, the Official Liquidator issued letter dated 02.07.2025 to Ministry of Corporate Affairs, w