S.S. Sandhawalia, J. - (1.) THIS is an application under Section 151 of the Civil Procedure Code read with Rule 9 of the Companies (Court) Rules, 1959. It seeks directions to Shri N.S. Kharbarida, the former managing director of the Chandigarh Tourist Syndicate (Pvt.) Ltd., to hand over the records relating to the company and also the keys of the almirahs lying in the office of the company and further to deliver the cash in hand held by him earlier to the present managing director of the company with the requisite details thereof.
(2.) IT does not seem to be in dispute that an annual general meeting of the company was called for the purposes of the election of the managing director/chairman on 30th November, 1977. In the proceedings held in the said meeting Sh. N.S. Kharbanda, who was the incumbent managing director of the company, lost to Sh. Ajaib Singh Bachhal, the present applicant, who was elected as the managing director thereafter. It has been averred in the application that in the minutes book relating to the annual general meeting Sh. N.S. Kharbanda wrote in his own hand on 30th November, 1977, that he lost the election and Sh. Ajaib Singh Bachhal, respondent No. 2, was elected instead. It is the applicant's case that at the end of the proceedings Sh. N.S. Kharbanda agreed that the record and cash of the company shall be transferred within ten days thereafter. However, the applicant alleges that Sh. N.S. Kharbanda has not attended the office of the company at all and has not handed over the records of the company in his possession including the keys of the almirahs, which are lying in the premises of the company and similarly has withheld the cash in hand of the company in his possession. It is further alleged that the whole working of the company is hamstrung by the action of Sh, N.S. Kharbanda and it is unable to file the passenger tax monthly returns, returns with regard to the annual general meeting and the failure to do so would render the company liable for heavy penalties. Similarly, the company is unable to effectively pursue the Income Tax appeal, which it has filed by producing the necessary records, which equally may entail onerous liabilities. It is also stated that the cheque book, stamp and receipts relating to the company are also lying in the almirahs, without which the company cannot effectively function. In the reply filed by Sh. N.S. Kharbanda, his mainstay seems to be that the applicant has no locus standi to file the present application for the custody of the records of the company. Further, the maintainability of the present application is sought to be challenged.
(3.) THE main stand on behalf of Sh. Kharbanda seems to be as averred in para. 5 of the return that he would have no objection to hand over the records, etc., after the decision of the Company Petition No. 239 of 1977 on merits regarding the validity of the proceedings of the annual general meeting.;