Case: Ai Champday Industries Ltd Vs. Official Liquidator

mentioned in the rules next following, or such of them as are applicable to the property sold:-(1) The seller is bound –(g) to pay all public charges and rent accrued due in respect of the property up to the date of the sale, the interest on all encumbrances on such property due on such date, and, except where the property is sold subject to encumbrances, to discharge all encumbrances on the property then existing." 19. In terms of the aforementioned provisions, therefore, the seller is bound to pay all public charges due in respect of the property upto the date of sale, when a property is sold in auction. Section 55 refers to a contract only. Unless there is a contract to the contrary, the rights and obligations of the parties to a sale would be as indicated in Section 55. Such a contract to the contrary must be express and not implied, as a result whereof the meaning of term encumbrance would be expanded.The advertisement did not specify that all public charges have to be paid.Municipal Corporation indisputably is not a preferential creditor. Companies Act in relation to winding up of proceeding is otherwise a special law. While distributing the assets between the creditors and unsecured creditors, the provisions of Sections 529 and 530 must be complied with. 20. All claims against the companies were required to be filed before the liquidator until the property was sold as provided for under Section 457 of the Companies Act. In terms of Section 456 thereof once an order for winding up is made the liquidator has to take into custody the properties, effects and actionable claims to which the company is or appears to be entitled. Section 528 provides that all debts payable on a contingency and all claims against the company, present or future are admissible to proof against the company. Section 529 provides for the same rule as in force for the time being under the law of insolvency with respect to the estates of persons adjudged insolvent. Section 530 provides for certain priorities to secured creditors and other unsecured creditors.Once the property is sold, the assets of the company are required to be distributed to the creditors in order of preference. As the respondent- Municipality was not a secured creditor, the impugned Judgment cannot be sustained. 21. Almost a similar question in regard to the dues of the electrical charges came up for consideration before this Court in Isha Marbles Vs. Bihar State Electricity Board and Anr. [1995 (2) SCC 648 ]. In that case sale of the assets of industrial undertaking took place in terms of the provisions of the State Financial Corporation Act, 1951. Having regard to the provisions of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910 a three Judge Bench of this Court held that a liability on the purchaser cannot be imposed which was not incurred by them stating : "63. We are clearly of the opinion that there is great reason and justice in holding as above. Electricity is public property. Law, in its majesty, benignly protects public property and behoves everyone to respect public property. Hence, the courts must be zealous in this regard. But, the law, as it stands, is inadequate to enforce the liability of the previous contracting party against the auction-purchaser who is a third party and is in no way connected with the previous owner/occupier. It may not be correct to state, if we hold as we have done above, it would permit dishonest consumers transferring their units from one hand to another, from time to time, infinitum without the payment of the dues to the extent of lakhs and lakhs of rupees and each one of them can easily say that he is not liable for the liability of the predecessor in interest. No doubt, dishonest consumers cannot be allowed to play truant with the public property but inadequacy of the law can hardly be a substitute for overzealousness." 22. Dues of the Municipality would also not even otherwise come within the purview of the crown debt. Even a crown debt could be discharged only after the secured creditors stand discharged. 23. In Union of India & Ors. Vs. Sicom Ltd. & Anr. [2009 (1) SCALE 10 ], it is stated : "11. Generally, the rights of the crown to recover the debt would prevail over the right of a subject. Crown debt means the debts due to the State or the king; debts which a prerogative entitles the Crown to claim priority for before all other creditors. [See Advanced Law Lexicon by P. Ramanatha Aiyear (3rd Edn.) p. 1147]. Such creditors, however, must be held to mean unsecured creditors. Principle of Crown debt as such pertains to the common law principle. A common law which is a law within the meaning of Article 13 of the Constitution is saved in terms of Article 372 thereof. Those principles of common law, thus, which were existing at the time of coming into force of the Constitution of India are saved by reason of the aforementioned provision. A debt which is secured or which by reason of the provisions of a statute becomes the first charge over the property having regard to the plain meaning of Article 372 of the Constitution of India must be held to prevail over the Crown debt which is an unsecured one. It is trite that when a Parliament or State Legislature makes an enactment, the same would prevail over the common law.12. Thus, the common law principle which was existing on the date of coming into force of the Constitution of India must yield to a statutory provision.13. To achieve the same purpose, the Parliament as also the State Legislatures inserted provisions in various statutes, some of which have been referred to hereinbefore providing that the statutory dues shall be the first charge over the properties of the tax-payer. This aspect of the matter has been considered by this Court in a series of judgments."

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 1

Explanation:
1[ds]12. The terms and conditions of the sale must be read as a whole. It must be given a purposive meaning.Encumbrance, therefore, must be capable of being found out either on inspection of the land or the office of Registrar or a statutory authority. A charge, burden or any other thing which impairs the use of the land or depreciates in its value may be a mortgage or a deed of trust or a lien or an easement. Encumbrance thus must be a charge on the property. It must run with the property. If by a reason of the statute no such burden on the title which diminishes the value of the land is created, it shall not constitute any encumbrance.14. If the property tax was merely a statutory dues without creating any encumbrance on the property which had cast a duty upon all the auction purchasers to make an investigation, it would mean that he must try to find out all the liabilities of the company in liquidation in their entirety. Respondent-Municipality was an unsecured creditor. In that capacity it cannot stand on a higher footing than an ordinary unsecured creditor who is required to stand in queue with all others similarly situated for the purpose of realization of their dues from the sale proceeds.15. Companies Act or any other law does not impose any additional obligation upon the purchaser to make an enquiry with regard to the liabilities of the companies other than those which would impede itsmay notice that Section 141 of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act provides that the property taxes to be a first charge on the premise for which they are assessed.There cannot, thus, be any doubt or dispute that a provision of law must expressly provide for an enforcement of a charge against the property in the hands of the transferee for value without notice to the charge and not merely create a charge.In terms of the aforementioned provisions, therefore, the seller is bound to pay all public charges due in respect of the property upto the date of sale, when a property is sold in auction. Section 55 refers to a contract only. Unless there is a contract to the contrary, the rights and obligations of the parties to a sale would be as indicated in Section 55. Such a contract to the contrary must be express and not implied, as a result whereof the meaning of term encumbrance would beadvertisement did not specify that all public charges have to beCorporation indisputably is not a preferential creditor. Companies Act in relation to winding up of proceeding is otherwise a special law. While distributing the assets between the creditors and unsecured creditors, the provisions of Sections 529 and 530 must be complied with.Dues of the Municipality would also not even otherwise come within the purview of the crown debt. Even a crown debt could be discharged only after the secured creditors stand discharged