The name of Orient Builders Private Ltd. was struck off by the Registrar of Companies on the application of the company due to recession. After three years, owing to favourable market conditions the management became int

Provisions of the Companies Act, 2013: Section 252(3) of the Companies Act, 2013 deals with the restoration of the name of a company to the Register of Companies. It states that if a company, or any member or creditor thereof, or the Registrar, feels aggrieved by the company having its name struck off from the register of companies, the Tribunal on an application made by the company, member, creditor or Registrar before the expiry of twenty years from the publication in the Official Gazette of the notice under sub-section (5) of section 248 may, if satisfied that the company was, at the time of its name being struck off, carrying on business or in operation or otherwise it is just to do so, order the name of the company to be restored to the Register of Companies. Case Reference: The facts of the present case are similar to those decided in Mahabharat Builders & Developers Ltd. vs. ROC, Mumbai by Mumbai bench of NCLT in July 2017. The provision under Section 252(3) of the Companies Act, 2013 could be invoked only when the company is struck off from the register of companies on the following grounds: Either inadvertently or on the basis of incorrect information furnished by the company or its directors; or If any application comes from any member / workman with a grievance saying that this company was struck off while carrying on business. Application to the given case: In the present case, the company's name was struck off by the Registrar on an application given by the company itself due to recession. This implies a voluntary striking off, not an inadvertent one or based on incorrect information. The company was not carrying on business at the time its name was struck off; rather, it ceased operations due to recession. The management now wishes to restart business due to favorable market conditions, which is a new decision, not a continuation of existing operations at the time of striking off. Conclusion: Since the company was struck off on its own application and was not carrying on business at the time of striking off, the decision of the management for restoration of the company due to favorable market conditions is not permissible under Section 252(3) of the Companies Act, 2013. Therefore, the action of the Registrar in rejecting the application for restoration of the name of Orient Builders Private Ltd. is **valid**.