Companies Act, 1956

Sec 121     -     Power to re-issue redeemed debentures in certain cases.

(1) Where either before or after the commencement of this Act, a company has redeemed any debentures previously issued, then,

(a) unless any provision to the contrary, whether express or implied, is contained in the articles, or in the conditions of issue, or in any contract entered into by the company ; or

(b) unless the company has, by passing a resolution to that effect or by some other act, manifested its intention that the debentures shall be cancelled ;

the company shall have, and shall be deemed always to have had, the right to keep the debentures alive for the purposes of re-issue ; and in exercising such a right, the company shall have, and shall be deemed always to have had, power to re-issue the debentures either by re-issuing the same debentures or by issuing other debentures in their place.

(2) Upon such re-issue, the person entitled to the debentures shall have, and shall be deemed always to have had, the same rights and priorities as if the debentures had never been redeemed.

(3) Where with the object of keeping debentures alive for the purpose of re-issue, they have, either before or after the commencement of this Act, been transferred to a nominee of the company, a transfer from that nominee shall be deemed to be a re-issue for the purposes of this section.

(4) Where a company, has either before or after the commencement of this Act, deposited any of its debentures to secure advances from time to time on current account or otherwise, the debentures shall not be deemed to have been redeemed by reason only of the account of the company having ceased to be in debit whilst the debentures remained so deposited.

(5) The re-issue of a debenture or the issue of another debenture in its place under the power by this section given to, or deemed to have been possessed by, a company, whether the re-issue or issue was made before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be treated as the issue of a new debenture for the purposes of stamp duty, but it shall not be so treated for the purposes of any provision limiting the amount or number of debentures to be issued :

Provided that any person lending money on the security of a debenture re-issued under this section which appears to be duly stamped may give the debenture in evidence in any proceedings for enforcing his security without payment of the stamp duty or any penalty in respect thereof, unless he had notice or, but for his negligence, might have discovered, that the debenture was not duly stamped ; but in any such case the company shall be liable to pay the proper stamp duty and penalty.

(6) Nothing in this section shall prejudicen :

(a) the operation of any decree or order of a Court of competent jurisdiction pronounced or made before the twenty-fifth day of February, 1910, as between the parties to the proceedings in which the decree or order was made ;

(b) where an appeal has been preferred against any such decree or order, the operation of any decree or order passed on such appeal, as between the parties to such an appeal ; or

(c) any power to issue debentures in the place of any debentures paid off or otherwise satisfied or extinguished, reserved to a company by its debentures or the securities for the same.

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