A.K.Ganguly, J. - (1.) - The writ petitioner No. 1 is a company registered under Companies Act, 1956 (hereinafter called the petitioner company) and the writ petitioner No. 2 is one of the directors of the petitioner company. The petitioner-company is a registered stock broker and is a trading member of National Stock Exchange of India Limited (hereinafter called NSE).
(2.) The respondent No. 5 is also a company, registered under Companies Act and it has opened an account with the petitioner-company.
(3.) The petitioner's case is that in the year 1996 under instruction from respondent No. 3, the petitioner-company opened an account being No. K 005 in the name of the respondent No. 3. Thereafter, in 1997 respondent No. 3 introduced his son, the respondent No. 4, and on their joint requests, the petitioner-company opened another account being No. S025 in the name of respondent No. 4 with respondent No. 3. The further case of the petitioner-company is that on 17th April, 1999 in terms of instruction given by respondent Nos. 3 and 4, the petitioner-company purchased 4000 equity shares of GMDC Limited with its own fund and the said purchase was duly entered in the account No. S025 of the respondent No. 4 but the price including the commission of the petitioner-company remained due. The petitioners state that thereafter, the respondent No. 3 and 4 introduced the respondent No. 5 to the petitioner-company as their sister concern and on the request of respondent Nos. 3 and 4 the petitioner-company opened an account in the name of respondent No. 5 being account No. B037. On or about 23rd April, 1999 the respondent No. 2 and 3 made over a cheque to the petitioner-company for a sum of Rs. 1,95,047/- drawn by respondent No. 5 in favour of the petitioner-company with request to the petitioner to transfer the said 4000 equity shares, so purchased in the name of respondent No. 4, in favour of the respondent No. 5 and the petitioner-company did act accordingly. On or about 18th May, 1999 as instructed by respondent No. 3, the petitioner-company sold and transferred 1000 equity shares of GMDC Limited out of 4000 so purchased and the sale proceeds of Rs. 69,550/- was entered into the account of respondent No. 5. Thereafter, on 11th June, 1999, the respondent No. 5 requested the petitioner-company to transfer the remaining 3000 equity shares of GMDC Limited in favour of the respondent No. 5. To that the petitioner-company demanded the dues of respondent No. 5 as per its account duly maintained by the petitioner-company. The case of the petitioner-company is that respondent No. 5 failed to make the payment of the dues to the petitioner-company.;