High Court of Calcutta slaps fine on Registrar of Companies

One of the rare outcome came across, the Calcutta High Court fined the Registrar of Companies (RoC) earlier this month. In the ruling, Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya stated that because there was a visible and unjustified delay on the part of the RoC, which was also contrary to the provision under Rule 10(1) of the 2014 Rules, the RoC must pay a fine Rs 25,000 to the petitioner within a fortnight. Adventz Finance initiated the petition.

According to the order, it appears that the petitioners resubmitted the e-form after the first one was returned to them for resubmission with certain details. The petitioners allege that the ROC took no action after August 5, 2021, and that the ROC’s impugned notification of July 29, 2022 did not specify the particulars that the petitioners were to resubmit. “In regard to the second submitted charge, it is clear that the ROC has been sitting on it since 2021 without taking any action.”

“After hearing learned counsel and considering the provisions of the 2014 Rules under which the Registrar is under obligation to take a decision on the e-form or document within 30 days from the date of its filing (Rule 10(1) provision), WPA 306 of 2023 is disposed of with liberty to the petitioners to resubmit the e-form,” it said.