The Britannia Engineering Company Limited (Mokameh Unit) and the Arthur Butler and Company (Muzaffarpore) Limited (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1978

(1) This Act may be called the Britannia EngineeringCompany Limited (Mokameh Unit) and the Arthur Butler and Company (Muzaffarpore) Limited(Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1978. (2) The provisions of sections 27 and 28 shall come into force at once and the remaining provisions ofthis Act shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of April, 1978.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "appointed day" means the 1st day of April, 1978; (b) "Arthur Butler and Company" means Messrs. Arthur Butler and Company (Muzaffarpore)Limited, a company within the meaning of the Companies Act 1956 (1 of 1956), and having itsregistered office at 40, Stand Road, Calcutta, in the State of West Bengal; (c) "Britannia Engineering Company" means Messrs.Britannia Engineering Company Limited, acompany within the meaning of the Companies Act 1956 (1 of 1956), and having its registered officeat 3, Netaji Subhash Road, Calcutta, in the State of West Bengal; (d) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Payments appointed under section 15; (e) "Government company" means a company within the meaning of section 617 of theCompanies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) and referred to in section 5 of this Act; (f) "Mokameh unit" means the wagon and other undertakings owned by Britannia EngineeringCompany at Mokameh in the State of Bihar; (g) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette; (h) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (i) "specified date", in relation to any provision of this Act, means such date as the CentralGovernment may, by notification, specify for the purpose of that provision and different dates may bespecified for different provisions of this Act; (j) "wagon and other undertaking" means the undertaking which is engaged in the manufacture ofrailway wagons and other goods; (k) words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the CompaniesAct, 1956 (1 of 1956), have the meanings, respectively assigned to them in that Act.

On the appointed day,-- (i) the Mokameh unit and the right, title and interest of Britannia Engineering Company inrelation to the Mokameh unit; and (ii) the undertakings owned by Arthur Butler and Company and the right, title and interest ofArthur Butler and Company in relation to the said undertakings, shall, by virtue of this Act, stand transferred to, and shall vest in, the Central Government.

(1) The Mokameh unit, and the undertakings of Arthur Butler andCompany, referred to in section 3, shall be deemed to include all assets, rights, lease-holds powers,authorities and privileges and all property, movable and immovable, including lands, buildings,workshops, stores, instruments, machinery and equipment, cash balances, cash in hand, reserve funds,investments and book debts pertaining to the Mokameh unit or, as the case may be, the undertakings ofArthur Butler and Company, and all other rights and interests in, or arising out of, such property as wereimmediately before the appointed day in the ownership, possession, power or control-- (a) of Britannia Engineering Company, in relation to the Mokameh unit, or (b) of Arthur Butler and Company, in relation to the undertakings owned by it, whether within or outside India, and all books of account, registers and other documents of whatevernature relating thereto. (2) All properties as aforesaid which have vested in the Central Government under section 3 shall, byforce of such vesting, be freed and discharged from any trust, obligation, mortgage, charge, lien and allother incumbrances affecting it, and any attachment, injunction or decree or order of any court or otherauthority, restricting the use of such properties in any manner or appointing any receiver in respect of thewhole or any part of such properties shall be deemed to have been withdrawn. (3) Every mortgagee of any property which has vested under this Act in the Central Government andevery person holding any charge, lien or other interest in, or in relation to, any such property shall give,within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed, an intimation to the Commissioner of suchmortgage, charge, lien or other interest. (4) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that the mortgagee of any property referred to insub-section (3) or any other person holding and charge, lien or other interest in, or in relation to any suchproperty shall be entitled to claim, in accordance with his rights and interests, payment of the mortgagemoney or other dues, in whole or in part, out of amounts specified in the First Schedule and also out ofthe monies determined under section 8, but no such mortgage, charge, lien or other interest shall beenforceable against any property which has vested in the Central Government or the Governmentcompany, as the case may be. (5) If, on the appointed day, any suit, appeal or other proceeding of whatever nature instituted orpreferred by or against Britannia Engineering Company in relation to the Mokameh unit, or by or againstArthur Butler and Company in relation to any undertaking owned by it, is pending, the same shall notabate, be discontinued or be, in any way, prejudicially affected by reason of the transfer of the Mokamehunit or, as the case may be, the undertakings of Arthur Butler and Company, or of anything contained inthis Act, but the suit, appeal or other proceeding may be continued, prosecuted or enforced by or againstthe Central Government or the Government company as the case may be.

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained insection 3, the Central Government may, if it is satisfied that a Government company (whether inexistence at the commencement of this Act or incorporated thereafter) is willing to comply, or hascomplied, with such terms and conditions as that Government may think fit to impose, direct, bynotification, that the Mokameh unit and the undertakings referred to in section 3, and the right, title andinterest of Britannia Engineering Company in relation to the Mokameh unit, and the right, title andinterest of Arthur Butler and Company in relation to the undertakings owned by it, which have vested inthe Central Government under section 3, shall instead of continuing to vest in the Central Government,vest in the Government company either on the date of the notification or on such earlier or later date (notbeing a date earlier than the appointed day) as may be specified in the notification. (2) Where the right, title and interest in relation to the Mokameh unit and in relation to the otherundertakings referred to in section 3, vest in a Government company under sub-section (1), theGovernment company shall, on and from the date of such vesting, be deemed to have become the ownerof the Mokameh unit and of the undertakings of Arthur Butler and Company and all the rights andliabilities of the Central Government in relation to the Mokameh unit and the undertakings of ArthurButler and Company shall, on and from the date of such vesting, be deemed to have been the rights andliabilities, respectively, of the Government company.