Palaniappan Pandian v. Union Of India

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED : 06.08.2021

CORAM

THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE M.M.SUNDRESH and THE HON'BLE MRS.JUSTICE S.KANNAMMAL W.A.No.1902 of 2021 Palaniappan Pandian ...Appellant Vs 1.Union of India rep. by its Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, A Wing, Shastri Bhavan, Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi - 110 001.

2.The Registrar of Companies, Office of the Registrar of Companies, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Shastri Bhavan, Haddows Road, Chennai - 600 006.

...Respondents

Writ Appeal filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent against the order dated 27.01.2020 passed in W.P.No.23551 of 2019.

Prayer in W.P.No.23551 of 2019 : Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying for the issue of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus calling for the records of the second respondent relating to the impugned order dated 01.11.2017 uploaded in the website of the first respondent in so far as the petitioner herein is concerned, quash the same as illegal, arbitrary and devoid of merit and consequentially direct the respondents herein to permit the petitioner to get reappointed as Director of any company or appointed as Director in any company without any hindrance.

For Appellant :

Mr.Govind Chandrasekhar For Respondents :

Mr.Venkatasamy Babu

JUDGMENT

(Delivered by M.M.SUNDRESH, J.) This writ appeal is directed against the order dated 27.01.2020 passed in W.P.No.23551 of 2019, whereby the learned single Judge dismissed the writ petition.

2.The issue involved is no longer res integra. Learned counsel appearing for the appellant and the learned counsel appearing for the respondents submitted that the question of invoking disqualification has already been considered by a Division Bench of this Court, holding in favour of the similarly placed person like the appellant. Reliance has been made on the recent judgment of the Division Bench dated 26.03.2021 in W.A.No.908 of 2021 (Durairaj Dhanasekaran Vs. Union of India and another), which took into consideration the earlier judgment passed by this Court. The operative portion of the judgment dated 26.03.2021 reads as under:

2. A Division Bench of this Court, in a batch of writ appeals, decided on October 9, 2020, in Meethelaveetil Kaitheri Muralidharan and others v. Union of India and another, reported in (2020) 6 CTC 113 : (2020) 7 MLJ 641 : 2020 SCC OnLine Mad 2958, allowed all the writ appeals and held that prior notice is necessary before disqualifying Directors under Section 164(2) of the Companies Act, 2013 and that the Registrar of Companies is not entitled to deactivate the Director Identification Number (DIN) for failure to file financial statements under applicable law and rules framed thereunder. The present writ appeal is squarely covered by the said judgment.

3.In view of the above, this writ appeal is allowed. No costs.

Sd/- Assistant Registrar(CS-VII) //True Copy// Sub Assistant Registrar mmi/ssm

To 1.The Secretary, Union of India, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, A Wing, Shastri Bhavan, Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi - 110 001.

2.The Registrar of Companies, Office of the Registrar of Companies, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Shastri Bhavan, Haddows Road, Chennai - 600 006.

+1cc to M/s.Govind Chandrasekhar, Advocate, S.R.No.38897 W.A.No.1902 of 2021 JP-II(CO) RVM(10/08/2021)