Srivastava, J. - (1.) An application was filed under Sections 397 and 898 of the Indian Companies Act of 1956 against the company itself, its managing agents and certain of its directors. There were eight respondents to the petition, One of them, viz. respondent No. 5, was Sri Hari Shankar Bagla. The reliefs prayed in the application were as follows : (a) That the existing Managing Agency agreement between the respondent company and the Indian Textile Syndicate (Private) Limited be terminated and the said Indian Textile Syndicate (Private) Limited be removed from their office as Managing Agents of the respondent company. (b) That the existing sole selling agency agreement between the respondent company and the Kanpur Agencies (Private) Limited be terminated and that the said Kanpur Agencies (Private) Limited be removed from their office of the sole selling agents of the respondent company. (c) That respondents Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 9 be removed from their office as Directors of the respondent company. (d) That the respondents or one or more of them be ordered to contribute such sum or sums of money to the assets of the respondent company by way of compensation in respect of misapplication, misfeasance and breach of trust committed by them or any of them as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit. (e) That suitable directions be given for the regulation of the conduct of the respondent company's affairs in future, including the holding and conduct of the meetings of the company. (f) That the respondent company be directed to rectify the Register of Members by registration of transfer of 5,473 preference and 2,536 Ordinary shares in the name of Bengal and Assam Investors Limited, the registration of which has been wrongly refused. (g) That for the purpose aforesaid all such directions may be given, inquiries made and accounts taken as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit. (h) That the respondents or one or more of them be ordered to pay to the applicants costs of this application or that the same be otherwise provided for. (i) That such further and other reliefs be allowed as the nature of the case may require." Reliefs (c), (d), (g) and (h) of these reliefs could be said to have been claimed against Sri Bagla personally.
(2.) During the pendency of this application Sri Hari Shanker Bagla died. The present application has been made on behalf of the applicants for bringing on record in his place five persons who are claimed to be the personal heirs and legal representatives of Sri Hari Shanker Bagla. The application is opposed on behalf of the proposed heirs mainly on the ground that the cause of action giving rise to the application did not survive after the death of Sri Bagla against his heirs and there is, therefore, no question, of the heirs being impleaded in the present proceedings.
(3.) At one stage a question arose as to whether Sri Bagla had left a will and his estate could on that account be said to be represented by an executor or an administrator. The applicants could not trace out any will and on behalf of the proposed heirs Sri Jagdish Swarup, their learned counsel, has stated that to the best of the knowledge and information of the heirs Sri Hari Shanker Bagla had not left will at his death. In this state of affairs there can be no question of the estate of the deceased being represented by an executor or administrator.;