Companies Act Section 429 — Power to seek assistance of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, etc
CHAPTER XXVII NATIONAL COMPANY LAW TRIBUNAL AND APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
Commercial / Corporate
Summary
Sub-section (1) allows the Tribunal, during proceedings to wind up a company under this Act or under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, to make a written request to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate, or District Collector in whose area the company's property, books of account, or other documents are located. This request is made so that these officials can take custody of or control over such property or documents. Upon receiving this request, the official must take possession of the property, books, or documents and then hand them over to the Tribunal or to any other person the Tribunal has authorised.
Under clause (b) of sub-section (1), after taking possession, the official is required to entrust the seized property, books of account, or other documents to the Tribunal itself or to any other person that the Tribunal has authorised to receive them.
Sub-section (2) states that, to ensure compliance with sub-section (1), the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate, or District Collector may take whatever steps and use whatever force they consider necessary to carry out the request.
Sub-section (3) provides that no action taken by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate, or District Collector under this section can be challenged or questioned in any court or before any authority, on any ground whatsoever.
Official Text
1[
(1) The Tribunal may, in any proceedings for winding up of a company under this Act or in any proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (31 of 2016), in order to take into custody or under its control all property, books of account or other documents, request, in writing, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate or the District Collector within whose jurisdiction any such property, books of account or other documents of such company under this Act or of corporate persons under the said Code, are situated or found, to take possession thereof, and the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate or the District Collector, as the case may be, shall, on such request being made to him,—
(a) take possession of such property, books of account or other documents; and
(b) cause the same to be entrusted to the Tribunal or other persons authorised by it.]
(2) For the purpose of securing compliance with the provisions of sub-section (1), the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate or the District Collector may take or cause to be taken such steps and use or cause to be used such force as may, in his opinion, be necessary.
(3) No act of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate or the District Collector done in pursuance of this section shall be called in question in any court or before any authority on any ground whatsoever.