Dileep Naik Vs Registrar of Companies (NCLT Indore)
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Indore Bench, allowed a petition filed under Section 252(3) of the Companies Act, 2013, seeking restoration of the name of Mandovi Marine Private Limited to the Register of Companies maintained by the Registrar of Companies (ROC), Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior.
The company had been incorporated on 23 May 1980 and was struck off by the ROC on 18 June 2018, with the publication appearing in the Official Gazette on 30 June 2018, due to non-filing of statutory returns and compliances. The applicants, who were majority shareholders of the company, contended that the company owned valuable immovable property situated in Village Kanadia, District Indore, and that the striking off had created a legal vacuum by preventing the company from defending its title, paying land revenue, or utilizing the property for its business purposes. They further submitted that the company was not a shell company, that the defaults in statutory filings were neither intentional nor mala fide, and that they were willing to complete all pending compliances upon restoration.
The ROC confirmed the factual position regarding the striking off and sought directions relating to filing of pending annual returns and balance sheets, publication of the restoration order, deposit of publication costs, declaration regarding company assets, confirmation regarding absence of management disputes, and completion of pending filings within a stipulated period. The applicants agreed to comply with the filing requirements, undertook to bear the cost of publication in the Official Gazette, declared that no assets had been acquired or disposed of after the strike-off, and confirmed that no management dispute existed in the company.
