Companies Act, 1956

Sec 457 - Powers of liquidator.

(1) The liquidator in a winding up by the Court shall have power, with the sanction of the Court,-

(a) to institute or defend any suit, prosecution, or other legal proceeding, civil or criminal, in the name and on behalf of the company ;

(b) to carry on the business of the company so far as may be necessary for the beneficial winding up of the company ;

(c) to sell the immovable and movable property and actionable claims of the company by public auction or private contract, with power to transfer the whole thereof to any person or body corporate, or to sell the same in parcels ;

(d) to raise on the security of the assets of the company any money requisite ;

(e) to do all such other things as may be necessary for winding up the affairs of the company and distributing its assets.

(2) The liquidator in a winding up by the Court shall have power -

(i) to do all acts and to execute, in the name and on behalf of the company, all deeds, receipts, and other documents, and for that purpose to use, when necessary, the company's seal ;

(ia) to inspect the records and returns of the company on the files of the Registrar without payment of any fee ;

(ii) to prove, rank and claim in the insolvency of any contributory, for any balance against his estate, and to receive dividends in the insolvency, in respect of that balance, as a separate debt due from the insolvent, and rateably with the other separate creditors ;

(iii) to draw, accept, make and endorse any bill of exchange, hundi or promissory note in the name and on behalf of the company, with the same effect with respect to the liability of the company as if the bill, hundi or note had been drawn, accepted, made or endorsed by, or on behalf of the company in the course of its business ;

(iv) to take out, in his official name, letters of administration to any deceased contributory, and to do in his official name any other act necessary for obtaining payment of any money due from a contributory or his estate which cannot be conveniently done in the name of the company, and in all such cases, the money due shall, for the purpose of enabling the liquidator to take out the letters of administration or recover the money, be deemed to be due to the liquidator himself :

Provided that nothing herein empowered shall be deemed to affect the rights, duties and privileges of any Administrator-General.

(v) to appoint an agent to do any business which the liquidator is unable to do himself.

(3) The exercise by the liquidator in a winding up by the Court of the powers conferred by this section shall be subject to the control of the Court; and any creditor or contributory may apply to the Court with respect to the exercise or proposed exercise of any of the powers conferred by this section.

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