Wednesday, August 7, 2013

My views on sec. 53 of Insolvency Act = whether the court can directly annul the sale deed while adjudging debtor as insolvent or after adjudging insolvent only, a petition under sec. 53 is maintainable for annuling the sale deed ?

“53. Avoidance of voluntary transfer:-- 
Any transfer of property 
not being a transfer made before and in consideration of marriage or 
made in favour of a purchaser or incumbrancer in good faith and for valuable consideration 
shall, if the transferor is adjudged insolvent on a petition presented within two years after the date of the transfer, be voidable as against the receiver and may be annulled by the Court.”

“6. Acts of insolvency:-- (1) A debtor commits an act of insolvency in each of the following cases, namely:
(a)      If, in India or elsewhere, he makes a transfer of all or substantially all his property to a third person for the benefit of his creditors generally;
(b)      If, in India or elsewhere, he makes a transfer of his property or of any part thereof, with intent to defeat or delay his creditors;
(c)      If in India or elsewhere, he makes any transfer of his property or of any part thereof, which would, under this or any other enactment for the time being in force, be void as a fraudulent preference if he were adjudged an insolvent.”

“7. Petition and adjudication:-- Subject to the conditions specified in this Act, if a debtor commits an act of insolvency, an insolvency petition may be presented either by a creditor or by the debtor, and the Court may on such petition make an order (hereinafter called an order of adjudication) adjudging him as insolvent.

Explanation:--The presentation of a petition by the debtor shall be deemed an act of insolvency within the meaning of this section, and on such petition the Court may make an order of adjudication.”
“9. Conditions on which creditor may petition:--
(1) A creditor shall not be entitled to present an insolvency petition against a debtor unless,--
(a)      the debt owing by the debtor to the creditor, or, if two or more creditors join in the petition, the aggregate amount of debts owing to such creditors, amounts to five hundred rupees; and
(b)      the debt is a liquidated sum payable either immediately or at some certain future time, and
(c)      the act of insolvency on which the petition is grounded has occurred within three months before the presentation of the petition:
         
Provided that where the said period of three months referred to in Clause (c) expires on a day when the Court is closed, the insolvency petition may be presented on the day on which the Court re-open.

          (2)      if the petitioning creditor is a secured creditor, he shall in his petition either state that he is willing to relinquish his security for the benefit of the creditors in the even of the debtor being adjudged insolvent, or give an estimate of the value of the security.  In the latter case, he may be admitted as a petitioning creditor to the extent of the balance of the debt due to him after deducting the value so estimated in the same way as if he were an unsecured creditor.” 
whether the court can directly annul the sale deed while adjudging debtor as  insolvent 
or 
after adjudging insolvent only, a petition under sec. 53 is maintainable for annuling the sale deed  and as court has no power to annul directly?

the words employed in sec. 53 is to be taken into consideration.

“53. Avoidance of voluntary transfer:-- 
Any transfer of property 
not being a transfer made before and in consideration of marriage or 
made in favour of a purchaser or incumbrancer in good faith and for valuable consideration 
shall, 
if the transferor is adjudged insolvent on a petition 

presented within two years after the date of the 

transfer, 
be voidable as against the receiver and may be annulled by the Court.”
any transfer of property
one is =  ---if transferor is adjudged insolvent on petition [under sec. 7 to 9 on the grounds of sec.6 (b)]
another is  = if transferor is adjudged insolvent ......
on petition presented with in 2 years after the date of the transfer , ---
shall be voidable as against the receiver and may be annulled by the court.
Doubts lingering in mind :- 
1. whether it  is 
"if the transferor is adjudged insolvent on petition under sec.7 etc.,"
Or 
"after the transferor adjudged as insolvent "
2.  "on a petition under sec. 53 - with in two years after the date of sale"..... 
for example 
if the I.P. Proceedings takes time more than two years for adjudicating him as insolvent on the ground of sec. 6 (b). 
How this petition under sec. 53 is maintainable after two years of the sale date as per former version.

My view = 
with great respects to the decisions of various High courts, 
i am of the view that the words employed clearly shows that if the transferor is adjudged as insolvent on a petition filed by the creditor under sec. 6 (b) (c) , 
automatically all transfers of properties except exempted , made with in 2 years of the insolvency petition , shall be voidable against the receiver and may be annulled by the court simultaneously. 
No separate petition is necessary. 
if separate petition is necessary 
and if it is to filed only after adjudication of insolvency petition as insolvent, 
the time clause with in two years comes in to play and  no court at any time can not annul the sale as void because no court dispose the insolvency petition with in two years .