Companies Act, 1956
Sec 426 -
Liability as contributories of present and past members.
(1) In the event of a company being wound up,
every present and past member shall be liable to contribute to the assets of
the company to an amount sufficient for payment of its debts and liabilities
and the costs, charges and expenses of the winding up, and for the adjustment
of the rights of the contributories among themselves, subject to the provisions
of section 427 and subject also to the following qualifications, namely :-
(a) a past member shall not be liable to
contribute if he has ceased to be a member for one year or upwards before the
commencement of the winding up ;
(b) a past member shall not be liable to
contribute in respect of any debt or liability of the company contracted after
he ceased to be a member ;
(c) no past member shall be liable to
contribute unless it appears to the Court that the present members are unable
to satisfy the contributions required to be made by them in pursuance of this
Act ;
(d) in the case of a company limited by shares,
no contribution shall be required from any past or present member exceeding the
amount, if any, unpaid on the shares in respect of which he is liable as such
member ;
(e) in the case of a company limited by
guarantee, no contribution shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (2),
be required from any past or present member exceeding the amount undertaken to
be contributed by him to the assets of the company in the event of its being
wound up ;
(f) nothing in this Act shall invalidate any
provision contained in any policy of insurance or other contract whereby the
liability of individual members on the policy or contract is restricted, or
whereby the funds of the company are alone made liable in respect of the policy
or contract ;
(g) a sum due to any past or present member of
the company in his character as such, by way of dividends, profits or
otherwise, shall not be deemed to be a debt of the company payable to that
member, in a case of competition between himself and any creditor claiming
otherwise than in the character of a past or present member of the company ;
but any such sum shall be taken into account for the purpose of the final
adjustment of the rights of the contributories among themselves.
(2) In the winding up of a company limited by
guarantee which has a share capital, every member of the company shall be
liable, in addition to the amount undertaken to be contributed by him to the
assets of the company in the event of its being wound up, to contribute to the
extent of any sums unpaid on any shares held by him as if the company were a
company limited by shares