1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION jmi COMPANY APPLICATION NO. 1130 OF 2009 IN COMPANY PETITION NO. 615 OF 2009. H.D.F.C. Ltd. ..Petitioner. v/s. Shree Raj Travels & Tours Ltd. ..Respondent/Applicant. WITH COMPANY PETITION NO.822 OF 2005. M/s. Pathfinders Travel Co. Ltd. ..Petitioner. v/s. Shree Raj Travels & Tours Ltd. ..Respondent. .... Mr. Abhishek Khare, a/w. Avinash Gharal, i/b. Khare Legal Chambers, for Applicant. Mr. D.D. Madan, Senior Advocate, a/w. Sheetal Sabnis & Ms. Ispita Sen, i/b. Gagrats, for Petitioner in C.P. 822/2005. .... CORAM : S.J. KATHAWALLA, J. DATE : 14TH JANUARY 2010. P.C. The company application is taken out by the applicant Shri Raj Travels and Tours Limited, who is the original respondent in the above company petition, for quashing and setting aside of the order dated 4th September 2009. By the said order dated 4th September 2009, this Court has admitted company petition no.615 2 of 2009 and has passed directions pertaining to issuing of advertisements. Pursuant to the said order, advertisements have already been issued and responses received from other creditors/claimants. 2. The applicant did not reply to the statutory notice nor to the company petition and nor appeared before this Court when the order dated 4th September 2009 was passed. By the present application, the applicant seeks setting aside of the said order dated 4th September 2009 on the ground that the applicant/ respondent company is in every manner commercially solvent and is going through temporary/ momentary financial difficulty primarily caused by the sudden recession in the world economy, and also appreciation of the US $ and Euro with respect to Indian Rupee which led to losses concerning forex transactions. 3. As recorded in the order dated 4th September 2009, the respondent company has admitted its liability to pay to the petitioners an amount of Rs.13.45 crores. Admittedly, the respondent company initially defaulted in repayment of the term loan within 90 days from 29th December 2007. Though an extension was sought by the respondent company and also granted by the petitioners on 28th June 2008 on the terms and 3 conditions set out therein, the respondent company failed to regularize their account. The petitioners sent a recall notice dated 26th November 2008 calling upon the respondent company to pay the outstanding amount of Rs.12,99,58,226.41 together with interest at the rate of 18% per annum from 1st November 2008 till payment and/or realization within seven days, failing which the petitioners would be constrained to initiate legal action. 4. The respondent company by its letter dated 1st December 2008, inter-alia stated :- "We have assured you that we will repay your every penny but we do need a breathing time and kindly do look at your own letter where it shows the approved limit is Rs.13.45 crores whereas total outstanding as per your letter is Rs.12.99 crores. And we are sure that it is quite possible to adjust the facilities within and graciously give us the time at least upto March 2010." The petitioners by its letter dated 4th December 2009 informed the respondent company that it was not possible to wait upto March 2010. The respondent company by its letter dated 4th December 2008 requested the petitioner to grant time atleast upto March 2009. 4 5. No amount whatsoever is paid thereafter by the respondent company to the petitioner. The petitioner therefore served a statutory notice dated 12th May 2009 at the registered office of the respondent company to which there was no response from the respondent company. Thereafter, the present petition is filed. Though the present petition was served on the respondent company, no reply was filed to the company petition nor any Advocate was engaged to represent the respondent company. None remained present when the petition was heard for admission and orders passed on 4th September 2009. In fact, after the said order was passed, this court by its orders dated 27th November 2009 and 18th December 2009 admitted two more petitions against the respondent company being company petition nos.822 of 2009 and 988 of 2008. 6. From the aforestated facts it is clear that the respondent company since about two years has defaulted in making payments qua its admitted liabilities which is now running into several crores. The respondent company has been repeatedly seeking time from its creditors (petitioner) by making promises to clear its entire liability on or before March 2009. Even at this stage, the respondent company is admittedly not in a position to 5 fulfill its promise of complete repayment made as far back as in December 2008. The excuse/explanation sought to be now given that the respondent company is going through a temporary/ momentary financial difficulty primarily caused by the sudden recession in the world economy, is belied from the aforestated facts/ conduct of the respondent company. In my view, the respondent company has not made out any case whatsoever for granting reliefs as sought in the application. 7. Company application is therefore, dismissed. [ S.J.KATHAWALLA, J. ]