# AMRIT LAL CHUM v. DEVOPRASAD DUTIA ROY AND ANR. ETC

- **Citation:** [1988] 2 S.C.R. 783
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1988-01-20
- **Case number:** Criminal Appeal No. 368 of 1986
- **Bench:** A.P. Sen, E.S. Venkataramiah, L.M. Sharma
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/amrit-lal-chum-v-devoprasad-dutia-roy-and-anr-etc-9856
- **Pages:** 4

## Headnote

Companies Act, 1956: Section 630-lnterpretation of-Officer/
employee of company allotted flat, refusing to vacate, after retirementProsecution of such officer/employee-Whether permissible.
A
B
c
.)-
Section 630 of the Companies Act, 1956 empowers the court, on
~ the complaint of the Company, or any creditor or contributory thereof,
to punish an officer or elJlployee of such company, by levy of fine, if
such officer or employee wrongfully obtains possession of, or having
obtained possession, wrongfully withholds or knowingly misapplies, the
property of the company; and also order him to deliver up or refund, D
within a stipulated time, such property or, in default, to suffer
imprisonment.
In these appeals against the Judgment of the High Court, the
question for consideration was as to the scope and interpretation of this
provision.
Allowing the appeals,
E
HELD: Section 630 or the Companies Act, 1956 plainly makes it
an offence if an officer or employee of a company who was permitted to
':-:
use the property of the company during his employment, wrongfully F
·nretains or occupies the same after the termination of his employment. It
1 the wrongful withholding of such property, meaning the property of
the company after termination of the employment, which is an offence
under s. 630(1) of the Act. [785B-C]
There is, therefore, no warrant to give a restrictive meaning to the G
term "officer or employee" appearing in sub-section (t) of s. 630 ofthe
Act as meaning only the eii:isting officers and employees and not those
whose employment has been terminated. [785C-D]
Baldev Krishna Sahi v. Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. &
Anr., ll987) 4 SCC 361, followed.
H
783
784
SUPREME COURT REPORTS ·
[1988] 2 S.C.R.
A
[Time granted to respondents till June 30, 1988 to vacate the premises
subject to the furnishing of usual undertaking. In the event of failure to
furnish the undertaking and/or vacate the premises within the time
stipulated, the cases against the respondents to continue and the trial
court to proceed with the trial and dispose them of expeditiously, but
B
c
D
E
F
not later than 31.10.88.] [785G-H; 786A]

## Text

AMRIT LAL CHUM
v.
DEVOPRASAD DUTIA ROY AND ANR. ETC.
JANUARY 20, 1988
[A.P. SEN, E.S. VENKATARAMIAH AND
L.M. SHARMA, JJ.)
Companies Act, 1956: Section 630-lnterpretation of-Officer/
employee of company allotted flat, refusing to vacate, after retirementProsecution of such officer/employee-Whether permissible.
A
B
c
.)-
Section 630 of the Companies Act, 1956 empowers the court, on
~ the complaint of the Company, or any creditor or contributory thereof,
to punish an officer or elJlployee of such company, by levy of fine, if
such officer or employee wrongfully obtains possession of, or having
obtained possession, wrongfully withholds or knowingly misapplies, the
property of the company; and also order him to deliver up or refund, D
within a stipulated time, such property or, in default, to suffer
imprisonment.
In these appeals against the Judgment of the High Court, the
question for consideration was as to the scope and interpretation of this
provision.
Allowing the appeals,
E
HELD: Section 630 or the Companies Act, 1956 plainly makes it
an offence if an officer or employee of a company who was permitted to
':-:
use the property of the company during his employment, wrongfully F
·nretains or occupies the same after the termination of his employment. It
1 the wrongful withholding of such property, meaning the property of
the company after termination of the employment, which is an offence
under s. 630(1) of the Act. [785B-C]
There is, therefore, no warrant to give a restrictive meaning to the G
term "officer or employee" appearing in sub-section (t) of s. 630 ofthe
Act as meaning only the eii:isting officers and employees and not those
whose employment has been terminated. [785C-D]
Baldev Krishna Sahi v. Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. &
Anr., ll987) 4 SCC 361, followed.
H
783
784
SUPREME COURT REPORTS ·
[1988] 2 S.C.R.
A
[Time granted to respondents till June 30, 1988 to vacate the premises
subject to the furnishing of usual undertaking. In the event of failure to
furnish the undertaking and/or vacate the premises within the time
stipulated, the cases against the respondents to continue and the trial
court to proceed with the trial and dispose them of expeditiously, but
B
c
D
E
F
not later than 31.10.88.] [785G-H; 786A]
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
No. 368 of 1986.
From the Judgment and Order dated 11.4.1986 of the Calcutta
High Court in Crl. R. No. 1181of1985.
WITH
Criminal ~ppeals Nos. 251-252of1986.
'~
From th& Judgment and Order dated 26. 7 .1975 of the Calcutta
High Court in Crl1 Revn. Nos. 222 and 448 of 1985.
Dr. Y.S. Chitale and H.K. Puri for the Appellant.
Parijat Sinha for the Respondent in Crl. A. No. 368 of 1986.
S.K. Kapur, Ranjan Dev and Mrs. Indra Sawhney for the
Respondents in Crl. A. No. 251-252of1986.
Tapas Roy and D.K. Sinha for the State of West Bengal.
D.K. Sinha, K.R. Nambiar, Ms. Reba Roy, K.K. Lahitri and
Ms Apsi Ditta for the Interveners.
The following Order of the Court was delivered
ORDER
After hearing Shri S.K. Kapoor, learned counsel appearing for
respondent no. 1 in Criminal Appeals Nos. 251-252 of 1986 at quite
some length, we are not persuaded to take a view different from the
G
one expressed by this Court in the recent judgment in Baldev Krishna
Sahi v. Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. & Anr., [1987] 4 SCC 361
overruling the judgment of the Calcutta High Court in Amrit Lal
Chum v. Devi Ranjan Jha, [1987] 61 Company Cases 211 as to the
scope and effect of sub-s. (1) of s. 630 of the Companies Act, 1956.
The Court in Baldev Krishna Sahi's case has placed a beneficent conH
sttuction on the provisions contained in sub-s. (1) of s. 630 of the Act
-
iillt
~
•
AMRIT LAL v. D.D. ROY
785
and according to it the term 'officer or employee' in sub-s. (1) of s. 630
must be interpreted to mean not only the present officers and employees of a company but also to include the.past officers and employees
of the Company. It has also taken the view that the words 'any such
property' in cl. (b) thereof qualify the words 'any property of a company' appearing in cl. (a). As observed in Baldev Krishna Sahi's case,
s. 630 of the Act plainly makes it an offence if an officer or employee
of a company who was permitted to use the property of the compaay
during his employment, wrongfully retains or occupies the same after
the termination of his employment. It is the wrongful withholding of
such property, meaning the property of the company after termination
A
B
of the employment, which is an offence under s. 630(1)(b) of the Act.
The construction placed by this Court in Baldev Krishna Sahi's case is
C
the only construction possible. There is therefore no warrant to give a
restrictive meaning to the term 'officer or empldyee' appearing in
sub-s. (1) of s. 630 of the Act as meaning only the, existing officers and
employees and not those whose employment have been terminated. The
Court in Baldev Krishna Sahi's case has expressly overruled the judgment of the Calcutta High Court in Amrit Lal Chum v. Devi Ranjan
D
Jha, supra, against which these appeals have been filed and upheld the
consistent view to the contrary taken by the High Court of Bombay in
a series of cases. [See Harkishin Lakhimal Gidw_ani v. Achyut
Kashinath Wagh, [1982] 52 Company Cases 1 and Govind T. Jagtiani
v. Sirajuddin S. Kazi, I 1984] 56 Company Cases 329 I.
Accordingly, these appeals must succeed and are allowed with
costs. The judgment of the High Court allowing the applications under
s. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 are set aside.
E
~ Shri S.K. Kapoor, learned counsel appearing for respondent
no. 1 in Criminal Appeals Nos. 251-252 of 1986 and Shri Parijat Sinha,
F
learned counsel for respondent no. 1 in Criminal Appeal No. 368 of
1986 pray for time to vacate the premises in their occupation. We grant
the respondents time till June 30, 1988 to vacate the premises subject
to their furnishing the usual undertaking in this Court within four
weeks from today. If there is a failure on the part of the respondents to
comply with these conditions, namely, failure to file the said underG
taking and/or to vacate the premises within the time allowed, the cases
against them i.e. Complaint Case No. 1053/83 in the Court of IIIrd
Additional Judicial Magistrate, Alipore, 24 Paraganas and Complaint
Case No. 2788/84 in the Court of Special Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Alipore, 24 Paraganas shall continue. In the event of respondents' failure to file the ur1dertaking and/or vacate the premises within H
786
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
11988] 2 S.C.R.
A the time specified, the learned Magistrates shall proceed with the trial
of these cases and dispose them of as expeditiously as possible and in
any event, not later than October 31, 1988.
B
The intervention application filed by Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited is not pressed.
N.P.V.
Appeals allowed.