| Case ID |
31c40196-158a-48c1-bda9-f0eaea5d9f20 |
| Body |
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| Case Number |
Judicial Miscellaneous No.29 of 1993 |
| Decision Date |
Sep 09, 1996 |
| Hearing Date |
|
| Decision |
The petition for winding up of the respondent company was dismissed. The court found that there was a bona fide dispute regarding the debts claimed by the petitioner and that the respondent was not unable to pay its debts. The court emphasized that the mere unwillingness to pay does not equate to inability to pay, and that the petitioner was attempting to use the winding-up proceedings to pressure the respondent into paying time-barred debts, which constituted an abuse of the legal process. Thus, the court ruled against the winding-up based on the circumstances presented. |
| Summary |
This case revolves around an application for the winding up of MESSRS METITO ARABIA INDUSTRIES LIMITED under the Companies Ordinance of 1984 due to alleged non-payment of debts. The petitioner, MESSRS GAMMON (PAKISTAN) LIMITED, claimed that the respondent had failed to settle debts arising from a project in Saudi Arabia. However, the respondent contended that there were bona fide disputes regarding the debts, and the claim was based on an award from a foreign tribunal that lacked legal sanctity in Pakistan. The Sindh High Court, presided by Justice Rasheed Ahmed Razvi, ultimately dismissed the petition, ruling that the respondent was not legally bound to pay the disputed debts and that the winding-up proceedings were an attempt to exert undue pressure. Key aspects of this ruling highlight the importance of distinguishing between genuine inability to pay and mere unwillingness, along with the legal requirements for enforcing foreign awards in Pakistan. |
| Court |
Sindh High Court
|
| Entities Involved |
Al-Ahli Sports Club, Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia
|
| Judges |
RASHEED AHMED RAZVI
|
| Lawyers |
Gulzar Ahmad,
M.A. M. Namazi
|
| Petitioners |
MESSRS GAMMON (PAKISTAN) LIMITED
|
| Respondents |
MESSRS METITO ARABIA INDUSTRIES LIMITED
|
| Citations |
1997 SLD 577 = 1997 CLC 230
|
| Other Citations |
Abdul Malik Badruddin v. Grosvenor Casino Limited PLD 1993 Kar. 449,
Messrs Adage Advertising, Lahore v. Messrs Shezan International Ltd. 1970 SCMR 184,
Hashmi Can Company Limited v. K.K. & Co. (Private) Limited 1992 SCMR 1006,
Mulla Abdullahbhai and 9 others v. Saria Rope Mills Ltd. PLD 1971 Kar. 597,
Ulbricht's Wwe. Ges M.B.H., Austria v. Ulbricht's (Pakistan) (Pvt.) Ltd. PLD 1992 Kar. 249,
PICIC v. Indus Steel Pipe 30 1993 MLD 94,
Federation of Pakistan v. The Standard Insurance Co. Ltd. PLD 1986 Kar. 409,
M/s. Madhusudan Gorhandas & Co. v. Madhu Woollen Industries Pvt. Ltd. AIR 1971 SC 2600,
Bengal Luxuri Cotton Mills Ltd. And others v. Madhuluxmi Cotton Mills Ltd. and others AIR 1955 Cal. 273,
P. Satyarazu v Guntur Cotton, Jute and Paper Mills Company Ltd. AIR 1925 Mad.199,
Khyber Textile Mills Ltd. v. Allied Textile Mills Ltd. 1989 CLC 1167,
Trade and Industry Publication Ltd. v. I.D.B.P. PLD 1990 SC 768,
I.D.B.P. v. Modern Poultry Farm 1990 CLC 1030,
Halsbury's Laws of England and Hashmi Can Co. Ltd.'s case 1992 SCMR 1006 rel. Pakistan Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation Limited v. Messrs Indus Steel Pipe Limited 1993 MLD 94,
W.T. Henley's Telegram Works Co. Ltd., Calcutta v. Gorakhpur Electric Supply Co. Ltd., Allahabad AIR 1936 All. 840
|
| Laws Involved |
Companies Ordinance (XLVII of 1984)
|
| Sections |
305,
306
|