Orient Cables (India) Limited, whose name was corrected by the RoC in 2007 and which later converted to a public company in 2024, faced a rectification application filed by Respondent No. 3 in August 2025 under Section 16(1)(b) of the Companies Act, 2013, seeking to change the company’s name on grounds of similarity. The Petitioner approached the Delhi High Court by way of a writ petition seeking to prohibit the Regional Director from entertaining the application, primarily on the ground that it was hopelessly time-barred (three-year limitation having expired in 2010) and apprehending that the Regional Director might suo moto invoke Section 16(1)(a) without notice. The High Court declined to interdict the proceedings at the threshold but directed the Regional Director to first decide the limitation issue with specific findings, postponed the next hearing by one week, mandated communication of the final order by email, and kept any adverse order on merits in suspension for one week to enable the Petitioner to challenge it. Crucially, the Court restrained the Regional Director from invoking suo moto powers under Section 16(1)(a) while deciding Respondent No. 3’s application and held that any such suo moto exercise would necessarily require prior notice to the company in accordance with natural justice.
- The Regional Director, while deciding an application filed by a third party under Section 16(1)(b) of the Companies Act, 2013, must first adjudicate the issue of limitation with specific findings before proceeding (if at all) to merits (Para 11).
- The Regional Director cannot, while deciding a third-party application under Section 16(1)(b), simultaneously or covertly invoke suo moto jurisdiction under Section 16(1)(a) without issuing an independent notice to the affected company; doing so would violate principles of natural justice (Para 16).
- If an adverse order on merits is ultimately passed under Section 16(1)(b) against the company, the same shall remain suspended for one week to enable the company to avail further remedies (Para 12).
Case Title: Orient Cables (India) Limited Vs Office of the Regional Director (Northern Region), Ministry of Corporate Affairs & Ors.
Order Date: 01 December 2025
Case Number: W.P.(C)-IPD 59/2025 & CMs 247-248/2025
Neutral Citation: Not yet available
Name of Court: High Court of Delhi at New Delhi
Name of Judge: Hon’ble Ms. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora
[Readers are advised not to treat this as substitute for legal advise as it may contain errors in perception, interpretation, and presentation]
[Written By: Advocate Ajay Amitabh Suman, IP Adjutor [Patent and Trademark Attorney], High Court of Delhi]
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