Sh. Alok Kumar Mishra & Ors. Vs Vigneshwara Developwell Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. (Delhi High Court)
In a recent order, the Delhi High Court directed the transfer of multiple winding-up petitions against a single company, Vigneshwara Developwell Pvt. Ltd., to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The petitions, filed under Sections 433(e), 434, and 439 of the Companies Act, 1956, sought to wind up the company due to its alleged inability to pay its debts. The court’s decision was based on an application to transfer one of the petitions and a previous judgment that had already directed the transfer of another petition against the same company. The court reasoned that transferring all pending petitions to the NCLT would allow for effective and unified adjudication for all parties involved.
The court’s directive is consistent with the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, particularly Section 434, which outlines the transfer of pending proceedings from the High Courts to the NCLT. Section 434(1)(c) mandates that all proceedings under the Companies Act, 1956, including those related to winding up, pending before any High Court, shall be transferred to the Tribunal. A key proviso to this section allows a party to file an application for such a transfer. The court highlighted this specific proviso, noting that the application for transfer in one of the related petitions, P.K. Uberoi (Retd.) & Anr. v. Vigneshwara Developwell Pvt. Ltd. & Ors., had already been granted. Given this precedent and the shared respondent company, the court found it appropriate to transfer all related petitions to the NCLT to ensure all parties in similar situations are handled under the same jurisdiction.
