LexThe Jogighopa (Assam) Unit of Ashok Paper Mills Limited (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertaking) Act, 1990
Assam · state statute
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The Assam Gazette
e n r o w
EXTRAORDINARY
£ T T ® ® 3 T R T SW TW 5w
PUBLISHED BY AUT HOR ITY
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No. 152 Dispur, Tuesday, 25th S eptem ber, 1390, .r d Asv ina,
1012 (S. E.)
GO VE RN ME NT OF A SSAM
OR DE RS BY TH E GOVERNOR
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
NOTIFICATION
The 24th September 1990
No. LGL.98/89/182. — The following Act of the Assa m
Legislative Assembly h-u. received the assent ot the
Pesiden t is here by published for general infer nation
778 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, SEPT. 25, 19 90
ASSAM ACT NO. XV OF 19 90 ,
Received the assent o f the President’s on 12th September 19 90
THE JOGIGH OPA (ASSAM) UNIT OF
ASHOK . PAPER MILLS LIMITED (ACQUISI
TION AND TRANSFER OF UNDERTAKING)
ACT, 1990*
An
Act
to provide for, in the public interest, acquisi
tion of the right, title and interest of the indus trial
undertaking of Messers the Jogighopa (Assam) Unit
of the Ashok Paper Mills Limited, Calcutta and
for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto*
Whereas the Jogighopa (Assam) Unit of the
Ashok Paper Mills Limited, (Registered Office Cal
cutta), has been engaged in production, manufac
ture and procurement of raw materials (therefore)
of articles mentioned in the first Schedule to the
e5 of i9 5i inc ju s tr ie s (Development and Regulation) Act, 19 51 ,
namely, paper including newsprint et c* at its Mill
at Jogighopa in the district at Goalpa ra in the State
of Assam, which are essential to meet the needs
of the public;
l ® f 1 9 8 6 Whereas the Industrial Undertaking, namely,
the Jogighopa (Assam) Unit of the Ashok Paper
Mills Limited, Calcutta has become sick and has
been so held by the Board for Industrial and Finan
cial Re-construction within the meaning of clause
(o) of section 3 of the Sick Industrial Companies
(Special Provisions) Act, 1985, necessitating its re
juvenation and rehabilitation and subscription to
its all-round growth and development, owing to its
public interest and in the interest of the State of
Assam ;
And whereas investment of large amount of
money is necessary for the rehabilitation and develop
ment of, for starting and maintenance of produc
tion and for securing proper management of the
affairs of the aforesaid industrial undertaking;
THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, SRPT. 25, 19 90 779
And whereas for the purpose of re-construcung
and rehabilitating the said industrial undertakings
and there by forming a viable unit to subserve the
interest of the general public and of the State of
Assam by the augmentation of production and dis
tribu tion of bamboo, pulp, paper, newsprint, paper
board, caustic soda and chlorine which are essen
tial for the growth of economy of the country, it
is necessary to acquire the right, title and interest
of the undertakings of the Jogighopa (Assam) Unit
of Messers Ashok Paper Mills Limited, Calcutta;
It is hereby enacted in the Forty-first Year of
the Republic of India, by the Legislature of Assam,
as follow s namely:—
CH AP TE R- !
PRELIMINARY
Sh°a ndtle 1' *1) This Act may be called the Jogighopa
omrnence- (Assam) Unit of Ashok Paper Mills Limited, Calcutta
m e n t. (Acquistion and Transfer of Undertaking) Act, 1990.
(2) It shall come into force at once.
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise-e fin it io n s . r e q u i r e s._
(a) “appointed day” means the day on which
this Act comes into force;
(b) “book or paper” means books of accounts
deeds, vouchers, writings and documents and shall
include any books of accounts, deeds, vouchers and
documents having bearing or relation with
the existing facts or circumstances;
(c) '‘Commissioner” means Commissioner of pay
ments appointed under section 16;
(d) "Com pany” means the Jogighopa (Assam)
Unit of Ashok Paper Mills Limited being a Com-
i Ofi 956 pany incorporated under the Companies Act, 195 6,
having its registered office at Calcutta and register
ed as such.
780 THE ASSAM GAZE TTE EXT RAORDIN ARY, SEPT. 25, 1990
(c) ‘‘Co urt” With respect to any offence und er
.his Act, means the Co urt o f a Magistrat e of First
Class having jurisd iction in a district, but does not
include the High Co urt in the exercise of its or i
gina l jur isd ict ion ;
(f) ‘'Go vernm ent Co mp any ’’ means a Com pany
form ed, aft er the app oin ted day, by the State Gov ern-
r o f 1 9 5 6 m e n t a n d r e gi s t e r £d und er the Com panies Act, 1956
and shall include a Com pany, if any, form ed by
the State Gover nm ent ear lier for the specific pu r
pose cf acquisi tion and manag ement of the indus
trial undertaki ng of the Com pan y registere d und er the
Com panies Act, 1956;
(g) “N otification” means a notificatio n published
in the Official Gazette;
(h) “ Pre scr ibe d” means prescribed by rules u nd er
this Act;
(i) “ State Gover nm ent ’’ means the Gover nment
of Assam;
(j) words and expressio ns used here in and not
defined but defined in the Ind ustries (Develo pme nt
and Regulation ) Act, 1951 and the Com pan ies Act,
6 5 oi i9 5i j956, h ave the m eanings respectively assigned to them
in these Acts*
chapter - I I
Acq uisition and transf er of the
un de rta kin g of the com pany.
In d” v e sti r, ” appointed day, the un de rta kin g o f the
in thTstatlCompany; and the rig ht, titl e an d intere st of the
under ^o m Pany in rela tion to its u ndertaking , shall, by
/I kin g™ the virt ue of t his Act, be tran sferred to, an d shall vest
co m pa ny . in , the State Gover nment :
Pro vid ed th at n oth ing herein co nta ine d or con
tained in any oth er law for the tim e be ing in force
o r in the Me mo ran dum or Artic les of Association
of the Comp any shall prec lude from tra nsfer rin g
an d vesting the u nd ert ak ing o f th e Com pany to the
State Gover nment or to a Gover nm ent Com pany,
as the case may be-
f'HE ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRAORDINARY, SEPT. 25, !99 0 78 1
« undertaking of the Company shall be
v e^n g0 deemed to include all assets, rights, lease holds,
powers, authorities and privileges, and all prope
rties movable and immovable including lands, buil
dings, workshops, goods and chattels including
stores, machineries and equipments vehicles, off ice
furniture, books and stationery, cash balances including
cash in hand, cheques, demand drafts, reserved funds,
investments, book debts and all other rights and
interests in, or arising out of such properties as
were, immediately before the appointed day, in the
ownership, possession or control of the undertaking
of the company, whether within or outside India
and all other books and papers of accounts, regi
sters and all other documents of whatever nature
relating thereto.
(2 ) All properties and assets as aforesaid which
have vested in the S tate Government under section
3 shall, by force of such vesting be freed and
discharged from any trust, obligation, mortgage,
charge, lien and other encumbrances affecting it,
and by force of such vesting any attachm ent, injunc
tion or any decree or order of any court or other
authority restricting the use of such property or
assets in any manner or appointing any receiver in
respect of the whole or any part of such property
or assets shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
(3) Every mortgage of any property which has
vested under this Act in the State Government
and every person holding any charge, lien or other
interest in or in relation to, any such property
shall give, within such time and such manner as
may be prescribed, an intimation to the State Go
vernment or to Commission or any such officer
as may be appointed by the State Government in
tha t behalf, of such mortgage, charge, lien or other
interest.
(4) The mortgage of any property or any other
person holding any charge, lien or other interest
in, or in relation to, any such property referred to
in sub-section (3) shall be entitled to claim, in
accordance with his rights and interests payment of
the mortgage money or other dues in whole, or
78 2 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, SEPT 25 , 1990
in part, out of the amount of compensation deter
mined under section 8 and also out of the monies
determined under section 9 but no such mortgage,
charge, lien or other interests shall be enforceable
against any property which has vested in the State
Government.
(5) If on the appointed day, any suit appeal or other
proceeding by or against the Company, of whatever
nature in relation to any property which has ves
ted in the State Government, under section 3,
is pending, the same shall not abate, be disconti
nued or be, in any way prejudicially affected by
reason of the transfer of the undertaking of the
Company or of anything contained in this Act, but
the suit, appeal or other proceeding may be con
tinued, prosecuted or enforced by or against the
Company.
Licences an d 5. Anv licence, permit or other instrument gran-
men ts not to ted. to the Company in relation to the undertaking
diverting which has vested in the State Government under
a n d tran sfer section 3 of this Act, at any time before the
k inUo feth e‘a PP°in t e d day and in force immediately before that
com pany, day, shall continue to be in force on and after such
day in accordance with its tenure in relation to
and for the purpose of such undertaking of the
Company and on and from the date of vesting of
such undertaking in a Government Company un
der section 7, the concerned Government Com
pany shall be deemed to be substituted
in such licence, permit or other instrument
as if such licence, permit or other instrument
has been granted to such Government Company
and such Government Company shall hold it for
the remaining period for which the concerned
Company would have held it under the terms thereof-
st at e g o- 6- (1) Liabilities of the undertaking of the
\ er n“^ ‘ Company incurred in any period prior to the ap-
n o tmt>nb e pointed day shall be the liability of the Company
Hri o r' H a * a n ^ t> e enforceable against it and not against
b H it iw .la" the State Government or where the undertaking of
the Company are directed, under section 7, to vest
in a Government Company, against that Govern
m en t C om pany;
THE ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRAORDINARY, SEPT. 25, l$90 78 3
Provided that the State Government, after ob
serving proper financial formalities and by notifi
cation, may declare certain liabilities or class or
classes of liabilities to be the liabilities of the
State Government or the Government Company,
as the case may be.
(2) No award, decree or order of any Court,
Tribunal or other authority in relation to the under
taking of the Company passe d on or after the
appointed day in respect of any matter, claim,
dispute or cause of action arising before the ap
pointed day shall be enforceable against the State
Government or, against the Government Company
where the undertaking of the Company stands
transferred to and vested in a Government Company
under this Act-
(3) No lega l liability for controvertion before
the appointed day by the undertaking of any
provision of law, for the time being in force, shall
be enforceable against the Central or the State
Government or where the undertaking of the
Company are directed under section 6, to vest in
a Government agaim t that Government Company-
ro w ers of 7 - (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in
the st at e section 3 and section 4, the State Government
w * d S re «ent may, if it is satisfied that a Government Company
vesting of jg willing to comply, or has complied, with such
t»'in gdo f " terms and conditions as that Government may think
the co m p any fit t 0 impose, direct, by notification, that the un-
C o m p F n y ’4' dertaking of the Company and the right, title and
interest of the Company in relation to its under
taking which has vested in that Government, vest
in that Government Company either on the date
of the notification or on such earlier or later date
(not being a date earlier than the appointed day)
as may be specified in the notification-
(2) Where the right, title and interest of the
Company in relation to its undertaking vest in a
Government Company under sub-secticn (1), the
Government Company shall, on and from the date
of such vesting, be deemed to have become the
owner in relation to such undertaking and all the
784 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY. SEPT. 25, 199 0
rights and liabilities of the State Government in
relation to such undertaking shall, on and from
the date of such vesting, be deemed to have become
the rights and liabilities, respectively, of the Govern
ment Company.
CHAPTER -III
payment of amounts
Pav m en t of For the transfer to and vesting in the State
A m o u m , ° Government under section 3 and the Government
Company under section 7 of this Act, and the
right, title and interest of the Company shall be
given by the State Government or the Government
Company, as the case may be, in cash and in the
manner specified in Chapter-VI, an amount that
may be fixed by the State Government duly con
sidering the value of assets of the Company and
after observing proper financial formalities.
P a m n t o f ^or deprivation o f the Company of ’
im th cr " ° the management of its undertaking there shall be
a m o u n t. given to the Company by the State Government
such sums as the State Government may decide,
after observing due financial formalities, to be due
to the Company.
(2) The amount specified in section 8 and
amount to be determined under sub-section (1) shall
carry simple interest at the rate of four percent
per annum for the period commencing on the
appointed day and ending on the date on which
payment of such amount is made by the State
Government or by the Government Company, as
the case may be, to the Commissioner-
(3) The amounts specified in sub-section (1)
and sub-section (2 ) of this section shall be paid
in addition to the amount specified in section 8:
Provided that the liabilities of the Company
prior to the appoin ted day, tha t is ‘o say, the
date on which the undertaking has been transferred
to and vested in the State Government or the
Government Company and in relation to the affairs
of the undertaking shall be discharged from the
I
THE^ ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRAORDINARY, SEPT. 25, 19 90 785
amount specified in section 8 and in sub-section (1)
an , 1 (2) of section 9 in the manner prescribed and
in accordance with the rights and priorities men
tioned in the Schedule.
(4) Where liability of the Company in respect
of the undertaking specified in the Schedule is
discharged by the State Government or by the
Government Company according to the order of
priorities mentioned in the Schedule, the amount
to be paid to the Company under section 8 and
sub-sections (1) and (2) of this section, shall stand
reduced to that extent.
CHAPTER—IV
MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF
THE UNDERTAKING OF THE COMPANY.
•md'A dmi'n is- The Government Company or any person
uat .o nofT heO r body of persons which the Government Ccm-
ofdth e^ om Pa n y m a Y > by order in writing, specify, shall be p an y * °“ entitled to exercise the powers of general superin
tendence, direction, control and m anagement of the
affairs of the business of the Company after the
right, title and interest of the undertaking of the
Company have keen transferred to and vested in
the Governm ent Company under section 7 of this
Act. The person or body of persons so authori
sed by the Government Company shall be entitled
to do all such things as the Government Com
pany is authorised to do under authority of the
State Government or, under the Rules under this
Act.
D u ty o fp er - 1 1 * On the vesting of the management of the
s o n s in char-undertaking of the Company in a Government
ge m en t o f Company, all persons, in-charge of the manage-
th e u n d ert a. m e n t o f the undertaking of the Company im-
d e u v c rto* n mediately before suc h vestin g, shall be bound to
ass ets et c. deliver to the Government Company all assets,
books and papers of accounts, registers and other
documents in its custody relatin g o the under
taking.
_
786 THE ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRAORDINARY SEPT. 5, 19 90
pwS
bo ntyin °f (1) Any person, who has, on the appoin-
pos session or ted day, in his possession or under his control
a”"E bo ok s a n y assets, books, documents or other papers
or d o c u m c o ts fe la ti n g to or belonging to the undertaking or
r! 'latine to would have so belonged if the undertaking of the
taki ng of the comp any had not vested m tire State Govern-
d eh v ^su c'h m e n t ° r SUC ^ Government Company, shall be lia-
asse ts, books ble to account for the said assets, books, docu-
m eltdto V hem e n t s an<^ other papers to the State Government
sta "eSG o v e r or the Government Company, as the case may
n m e n t. be , a nd shall deliver them upto the Government
Company or to such person or persons as the
State Government or the Government Company
may specify in this behalf.
(2) The Company shall within such period,
as the State Government may allow in this behalf,
furnish to the State Government, a complete in
ventory of all properties and assets, as on the
appointed day, pertaining to the undertaking which
has vested in the State Government under this Act,
and for this purpose the State Government or, in
eases so warranted, the Government Company shall
afford all reasonable facilities to the Company.v
(3) The State Government or the Government
Company may take, or cause to be taken, all
necessary steps for securing possession of the
undertaking of the C 'mpany which has vested in
the State Government or the Government
Company under this Act .
Liability of
the Govern
ment Com
pany to .main
tain accounts
o the unJer-
ca k ing of the
Company.
13 . The Government Company shall maintain
accounts of the undertaking of the Company in
accordance with the provisions of the Companies
Act, 19 56 .
CHAPTER—V
PROVISIONS RELATING TO EMPLOYEES OF
THE COMPANY
Em plo ym en t 14 . (1) Every person who has been immediately
f c>ert ain before the appointed day, employed in the under-
t“ ? o nyti n u e . taking of the Company shall become on and from
the appointed day, an employee of the Govern
ment Company with the same rights and
I’ HE ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRAORDINARY, SE T . 25 1990 '/87
Privileges as to pension, gratuity and other matters
as would have been admissible to him if the rigG
ts in relation to the undertaking had not been
transferred to and veste d in the Government Co n-
pa y and shall continue to do so until and unless
his employment in the Government Company duly
terminated or until his remuneration and other
conditions of service are duly altered by the
Government Company.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in
5 5 o f i9 5 i sub-section (1), any liability accruing or arising as
a result of continuance of any employee of the
undertaking of the Company in the service of the
Government Company under this section, shall be
borne by the Government Company only in res
pect of any period on or after the appointed day,
Whiche ver date may be approved by the State
Government.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the
Industrial Disputes Act, 19 47 or any other law for
the time being in force, the transfer of the ser
vices of any offic er or other person employed in
the undertaking of the Company, to the Govern
ment Company, shall not entitle such officer or
other employee to any compensation under this
Act, or any other law for the time being in force and
no such claim shall be entertained by any court,
tribunal or other authority.
P ro v id e n t 15 . (1) Where before the appointed day the
ot he rF -n ds undertaking of the company had established a Pro
vident Fund, superannuation, welfare or other fund
for the benefit of the persons employed in the
undertaking, the monies relatable to the officers or
other employees whose services have been transferred
by or under this Act, to the Government Company
shall, out of the monies standing, on the appointed
day, to the credit of such provident fund super
annuation, welfare or other fund, stand transferred
to and vest in the Government Company.
(2) The monies which stand transferred undc r
sub-section (1) to the Government Company shall
be dealt with by the Government Company in such
manner as may be prescribed.
788 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, SEPT. 25,1990
CHAPTER-VI
COMMISSIONER OF PAYMENTS
A p p o in tm e n i 16 . (j) ygg state Government shall, for the
o n e r of pay-purpose ot disbursing the amounts payable under
m en u . sections 7 and 8, by notification, appoint a Com
missioner of Payments.
(2) The State Government may appoint such
other persons, as it may think fit, to assist the
Commissioner and thereupon the Commissioner may
authorise one or more of such persons also to
exercise all or any of the powers exercisable by
him under this Act. The Commissioner may autho
rise different persons to exercise different powers.
(3) Any person authorised by the Commissioner
to exercise any of the powers exercisable by him
may exercise those powers in the same manner and »
with the same effect as if such powers have been
conferred on that person directly by the State Go
vernment under this Act.
(4) The salaries and allowances of the Commi
ssioner and other persons appointed under this
sectio n shall be defrayed out of the consolidated
fund of State-
th eyms" at ey 0 ) The State Government or the Govern-
GoverRm ent ment Company, as the case may be, shall within
M io n «mmi" thirty days from the appointed day or the speci
fied date as may be prescribed, pay in cash the
amounts mentioned in clauses (a) and (b) of this
section to the Commissioner for payment to the
Company and to discharge the liabilities of the
Company in relation to the undertaking prior to
the appointed day in accordance with the Schedule;
(a) an amount equal to the amount specified in
section 8; and
(b) an amount equal to the amount payable to
the Company under section 9.
(2) A deposit account shall be opened by the
State Government in favour of the Commissioner
I'HE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY SEPT. 2\ 19 90 78 9
in the Public Account of the State, and every amount
paid under this Act to Gom irns ioner shall be deposited
by him to the credit of the said deposit account
and the said deposit account shall be operated by
the Commissioner.
(3) The interest accruing on the amount stand
ing to the credit of the deposit account referred
to in sub-section (2) shall accrue to the said account.
P o w e rs o f 18- (1) The State Government or the Government
suu Go ver-C om pany, as the case may be, shall be entitled to
n m e n t o r receive, upto the specified date, to the exclusion of
c o m p a n y6.1 1 4 all other persons, any money due to the Company
in relation to the undertaking which has vested
in the State Government, or the Government Com
pany, as the ease may be, and realised after the
appointed day, notwithstanding that the realisation
pertains to a period prior to the appointed day.
(2) Save as otherwise provided in this Act,
the liabilities of the Company in respect of
any period prior to the appointed day, which have
not been discharged by the State Government or
the Government Company, shall be the liabilities
of the Company.
b eCm a d * to Every person having a claim with regard
them co m - to any of the matters specified in the Schedule,
missioner. pertaining to the undertaking of the Company ac
quired under this Act, shall prefer such claim be
fore the Commissioner within thirty days from the
specified date :
Provided that if the Commissioner is satisfied
that the claimant was prevented by sufficient cause
from prefering the claim within the period of thirty
days, he may entertain the claim within a further
period of thirty days, but not thereafter.
p io rit of 20 - The claims made under section 19 shall
cla im s'?70 have priorities in accordance with the following
principle, namely ? ■ —
(a) categories listed higher wil l take precedence
over the ones listed lower in the Schedule
790 THE ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRAORDINARY. SEPT. 25 . 1990
that is to say, category I will take prece
dence over all others and category II
while coming next to category I will
take precedence over category III etc.
and so on and so fo rth;
(b) the claims specified in each of the cate
gories shall rank equally and be paid
in full, but, if the amount is insufficient
to meet suc h claims in full, they shall
abate in equal proportions and be paid
accordingly ;
(c) the liabilities specified in category II
shall be discharged in the manner ag
reed upon with ti.e bank, financial in
stitutions subject to the priorities speci
fied in this section; and
(d) the question of discharging any liability
with regard to a matter specified in a
lower category shall arise only if a sur
plus is left after meeting all the liabili
ties specified in the immediately higher
category.
Exa min a-
• ; ion of
claims.
21 . (1) On receipt of the claims made under
Section 19, the Commissioner shall arrange the claims
in order of priorities, specified in the Schedule and
examine the same in accordance with such order of
priorities.
(2) If, on examination of the claims, the
Commissioner is of opinion that the amount paid
to him under this Act is not sufficient to meet the
liabilities specified in any lower category, he shall
not be required to examine the claims in respect of
such lower category.
Ad mission 22. (1) After examining the claims with reference
o f c S * t o . ^ e priorities set out in the Schedule, the Com
missioner shall fix a date on or before which every
claiment shall file the proof of his claim :
THE ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRAORDINARY, SEPT . 25, 1990 791
(2) Notice calling upon the claimants to file
proof of one’s claims to the Ccmmissicner shall be
published in the Official Gazettee and shall be put
in advertisement in < ne issue respectively o f: —
(i) any daily newspaper in English language
having circulation in the major part of
the co un try ;
(ii) any daily newspaper in Assamese langu
age; and
(iii) any daily newspaper in other regional
language as the Commissioner may con
sider suitable-
Not less than fourteen days’ notice from the
last of the dates of such advertisement c r publication
shall be allowed for filing proof of ihe claimant-
(3) Claimant who d< es not fil e the proof of
his claim within the time specified by the Commis
sioner, shall not b' considered for any payment to
be made by the Commissioner-
(4) The Commissioner shall, after such in
vestigation as may, in his opin on, bo necessary and
after givin g the Company an opportunity of refu
ting his claim and after giving the claimant a i a-
scnab le opportunity of being hear d, by order in
writing admit »r reject ti e claim in whole or in
part.
(5) The Commissioner shall also decide any
dispute as tc the person or persons who is or who
are entitled to the amount and any dispute as to
who are tl e lega l representative of any deceased
claimant.
f6) The Commissioner sh all have the power
to regulate his own procedure in all matters ari
sing out t f the discharge of his functions, including
the pi ace or places at which he will held his
7 9 2 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY SEPT. 25 , 19 90
sittings and shall, for the purpose of making an in
vestigation under this Act, have the same powers
as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of
’ °f 1 9 0 8 Civil Procedure, 19 08 , in respect of the following
matters, namely
(a) the summoning and enforcing the at
tendance of any witness and exami
ning him on Oath ;
(. b) the discovery and production of any
document or other material object p ro
ducible as evidence ;
(c) the reception of evidences on affi
davits ;
(d) the issuing of any commission for the
examination of witness.
45 of 186 0
(. 7 ) Any investigation before the Commis
sioner shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding
within the meaning of Sectio ns 19 3 and 228 of the
2 o f 1 9 7 4 Indian Penal Cede, and the Commissioner shall be
deemed to be a Civil Court for the purposes of
Section 19 5 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Cri
minal Procedure, 19 73 .
(8; A claimant, who is dissatisfied with the
decision of the Commissioner, may prefer an appeal
against such decision to the principal civil court of
original jurisdiction within the local limits of whose
jurisdiction the undertaking of the Government Com
pany is situated :
Provided that where a person who is a Judge of
High Court is appointed to be the Commissioner
sue;, appeal shall lie to the High Court a t G uwahati,
and such appeal shall be heard and disposed of by
not les s than two Judges of that High Court.
THE ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRAORDINARY , SEPT. 25, 199 0 79 3
D is b u rs e m e n t 23. After admitting a claim under this Act
th eC o m m iS
y- the amount due in respect of such claim shall be
sio n e r to c ia i. credited by the Commissioner to the relevant fund
or be paid to the person or persons to whom such
sums are due and on such credit or payment the
liability of the Company in respect of such claim
shall stand discharged.
D is b u r« e m e n - 24. (1 ) If, out of the monies paid to him in
nts °f to m ° h e relation to the undertaking of the Company, there
C o m p a n y , is a balance left after meeting the liabilities in
accordance with the priorities as specified in the
Schedule, the Commissioner shall disburse such ba la
nce to the Company.
(2) Where the possession cf any machinery,
equipment or other property has veste d in the
State Government or the Government Company,
as the case may be, under this Act, but such
machinery, equipment or other property does
not belong to the Company, it shall be lawful
for the State Government or the Government
Company to continue to possess such m chinery,
equipment or other property on the same terms
and conditions under which ti ey were poss essed
by the Company immediately before the appointed
day.
Un disbm sed
or un cla im ed
am ou nt to
be depo sited
with th e
ge ne ral
rev en ue
ac co un t.
25. Any money paid to the Commissionei which
remains undisbnrsed or unclaimed on the date im
mediately preceding the date on which the off ice of
the Commissioner is finally worked up, shall be
transferred by the Commission’r, before his offic e
is finally wound up, to the general revenue ; ccount
of the State Government. A claim to any money
so transferred may be profeired to the State Govern
ment by the person entitled to such payment and
shall be dealt with as if such transfer has not been
made and the older, if any, for payment of the
claim being treated as an order, for the refund of
revenue.
po w er of 26. For t he purp ose of ascertaining whether any
w sp e c ti o c b y pe r s° n claiming p ayment under this Act, is entitled
^ o m m i. u o n - Commissioner shall have the right and
pow er to—
79 •' THE AS SA M GAZETTE , EXTRAO RD INA RY . SEPT. 2% 19 c 0
(a) require any person, having the possession,
custody or contract of any register or record of
the undertaking of the Company, to produce such
register or record before the Commissioner;
(b) require any person to make any statement
or furnish any information which may be required
by the Commissioner.
A ssu m p ti o n 27 (1) Where any liability of the Company
rg e T ii a W iU y . a r ising out of any item spec ified in the category-I
of the Schedule is not discharged fully by the
Commissioner out o f the amounts paid to him under
this Act, the Commissioner shall intimate in writing
to the State Government to the extent of the lia
bility which remains undischarged and tha t liability
shall be assumed by the State Government.
(2 ) The State Government may, by order, direct
the Government Company to take over the liability *
assumed by the State Government under sub
section (1) and on receipt of such direction, it shall
be the duty of the Government Company to discharge
such liability.
CHAP TER—VII
MISCELLANEOUS
Act to h a v e 28 - The provisions of this Act shall have effec t
e ffe c t1.6 1 11 8 notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith in
any other law for the time being in force, or in
any instrument having effect by virtue of any law,
other than this Act, or in any decree or order of
any Court, tribunal or othe r authority.
M as ^u ha ve Every contract entered into by the under-
effeot u n le s s 'taking of the Company which has vested in the
« h eifiedta te State Government under section 3, for any service,
Government sale or supply, and in force immediately before the
or Govern- appointed day , shall, on and from expiry of one
”an y , °m'hu nd red and eighty days from the appointed day,
cease to have effec t unless such contract before the
expiry of the said period is ratified, in writing by
THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, SEPT. 25, 1990 79 5
: e State Government or tlie Government Company
m which the undertaking of the Company has
vested under this Act and in ratifying such contract,
he State Government or Government Company may
make such alterations or modifications therein as it,
may think fit :
Provided that the State Government or the
Government Company shall not omit to ratify a
contract and shall not make any alteration or
modificath r. in a contract—
(a) unless it is satisfied that such contract is
unduly omrous or has been entered into in bad
faith or is detrimental to the interest of the State
Government or the Government Company ; and
(b) except after givin g the parties to the
contract, a reasonable opportunity of being heard
and except after recording in writing its reasons
for refusal to ratify the contract or for making any
alteration or modification therein.
30 . Any person, who,—
(a) having in his possession, custody or con
trol any property forming part of the undertaking
cf the Company wrongfully withholds such pro
perty from the State Government or the Govern
ment Company ; or
(b) wrongfully obtains possession of or re
tains any property forming pa rt of the undertak
ing of the Company which has vested in the State
Government or in the Government Company under
this Act ; or
(c) wilfully withholds or fails to furnish to
the State Government or Government Company,
as the case may be, any document relating to the
undertaking, which may be in his possession cus
tody or control; or
(d) wilfully fails to furnish to the State Go
vernment or the Government Company, as the
case may be, any assets, books of acco unts
79 6 THE ASSAM GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY SEPT. 25 i950
registers or other documents in his possession,
custody or control, relating to the undertaking; or
(e) wrongfully removes or destroys an pro
perty forming pa rt of the undertaking or prefers
any claim under this Act which he knows or has
reason to believe to be false or grossly inadequate ;
shall on conviction be punishable with impri
sonment for a term which may extend to two years
or with fine which may extend to ten thousand
rupees or with both.
31 . No Court shall take cognizance of an offer'ce
o F °O ff e n c e s punishable under this Act, except with the pre-
w it h pre v io u s v ious sanction of the State Government or of an
san cti on onxv a u t fro r jsC(j fr y Government in this behalf.
o ff e n c e s by 30, (l) where an offenc e under this Act has
co m p a n ie s. fre e n committed by a company, every person who
at the time when the offence was committed, was
insharge of. and was responsible to the Company for
conduct of business of the Ccmpany, as well as
the Company, shall be deemed to be guilty of
offen ce and shall be liable to be proceeded against
and pun ished accordi ngly :
Provided that nothing contained in this sub
section shall render any such person liable to any
punishm ent, if he proves tha t the offence was
committed without his knowledge or that he had
exercised all due diligence to prevent the commis
sion of such offence.
(2 ) Notwithstanding anything contained in
sub-section (1 ) where any offence under this Act
has been committed by a company and it is proved
that the offence has been committed with the con
sent or connivance of, or is attributable to any
neglect on the par t of any Director, Manager,
Secretary or ether officer, then such Director, Mana
ger, Secretary or officer, shall be deemed to be
guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be
preceded against and punished accordingly.
THE AgSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, SEPT. 25, 1990 797
Explanation ;
For the purposes of this section—
(a) “company” mean s any body corpo rat e,
and includes a firm or other association of ind ivi
duals ; and
(b) ‘‘ director ’ in relation to a firm, means
a partner in the firm.
fc tw n^uken $3. (1) No suit, prosecution or other lega l pre-
n 'g o o d fa i'h.cee ding shall lie against the Sfate Government or
any officer of that Government or the Gov ernment
Company or other person authorised by that Go
vernment Company for anything which is done or
intended to be done under this Act in good fadh.
(2 ) No suit, prosecution or other legal pro
ceedings shall lie against the State Government or
aov of its offi cers or other employees of the Go
vernm ent Company or any officer or other person
authorised by the Government Company for any
damage caused or likely to be caused by anything
which is done or intended to be done under this
Act in good faith.
Se I<? w -° sn 34-{l) The State Government may, by notifi-
pow r8- cation, direct that all or any of the powers exer
cisable by it under this Act, other than the powers
conferred by section 35 may, also be exercised by
such person or persons, as may be specified in the
notification,
(2) Whenever any delegation of power is made
under sub-section (1), the person to whom such
power has been delegated shall act under the
direction, control and supervision of the State
Government.
35.(1) The State Government may, by notifi- m a ernes c a |j Q n r u ieS for carrying out provisions of
this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the
generality of the foregoing power, such rule may
provide for all or any of the following matters,
namely
798 TH E AS SA M GA ZE TT E, E X T R A O R D I.n ARY, SEPT. 25, 1S < > 0
(a) the time within which, and the manner
in which, an intimation referred to in sub-section (2)
of section 4 shall be given ;
(b) the form and the manner in which and
the conditions under which, the Government Com
pany shall maintain the accounts as required by
section 13 ;
(c) the manner in which moneys in any provident
fund or other fund referred to the section 15 shall
be dealt with ;
(d) any other matter which is required to be
or may be prescribed.
(3) Every rule made by the State Government
under this Act, shall be laid as soon as may be
after it is made, before the Assam Legislative
Assembly while it is in session for a total period of
thirty days which may be comprised in one session
or in two or more success ive sessions, and if,
before the expiry of the session immediately following
the session or successive sessions aforesaid, the
State Legislature agrees in making any modifica
tions in the rule or the State Legislature agre es
that the rule should not be made, the rule shall
thereafter have effect only in such modified form
or be of no effect, as the case may be. Any such
modification or annulment shall, however,, be with
out prejudice to the validity of anything previously
done under that rule.
p o w e r to 36. If any difficulty arises in giving effect to
d if fic u lt ie s , tbe provisions of this Act, the State Government
m ay# as occasion arises, by order, not inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act, remove the difficulty :
Provided that no such order shall be made
after expiry of a period of two years from the
date on which this Act, is first published in the
Official Gazette.
R e p e a l 37. ( i) The Jogighopa (Assam) Unit of Ashok
s a v in g , paper Mills Limited ( Acquisition and Transfer of
Un der tak ing ) Ordinance, 19 90 is HEREBY RE
PEALED.
THE ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRAORDINARY. SEPT. 25. 19 90 79 9
(ii) NOTW ITHSTANDING such repeal; any
thing done or any action taken or purported to
have been taken under the ordinance so repealed
shall be deemed to have been done or taken under
corresponding provision of this Act.
THE SCHEDULE
( Se e sections 9, 19 , 20, 2 1 , 22 and 24 )
Order of priority for the discharge of the
liabilities of the Company in respect of the Under
taking.
Pre-Appointed Day Management period.
CA TEGO RY : I
Employees’ dues on account of unpaid salaries
and wages, provident fund, Employees’ State Insu
rance Contribution and any e thcr amounts due
to emplo yees before the date of taking over of
the management of the Undertaking of the Company
on the appointed day.
CATEGORY : II
Secured loans ' of the Bank and Financial
Institutions.
CATEGORY : III
Revenue, taxes, cesses, rat s and other due to
the Central and State Government and local
authorities or State Electricity Board.
CATEGORY : IV
Principal amount of unsecured loans advanced
by Banks and Financial Institutions,
CATEGORY : V
Amounts due by way of interest or, unsecured
loan s referred to the Category IV.
CATEGORY : VI
Any other credit availed of for the purposes
of carrying on any trading or manufacturing
operations and any ether dues.
K. LASKAR,
Secre tary to t he Govt of Assam,
Legislative Depa rtment.
GU WAH AT I—Printed & pub lish ed by the Jy Director (P ), Directo rate of Ptg. and
Sty., Assam, Gu wh aati— 2, (Ex-G zette) No. 303—860—50 )- 25-9 -1990’