17. Appointment of Commissioners of Payments.—(1) For the purpose of disbursing the amounts
payable to the owner of each sick textile undertaking, the Central Government shall, by notification in the
Official Gazette,—
(a) appoint such number of persons as it may think fit to be Commissioners of Payments; and
(b) define the local limits within which the Commissioners of Payments shall exercise the powers
conferred, and perform the duties imposed, on them by or under this Act.
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(2) The Central Government may appoint such other persons as it may think fit to assist the
Commissioner and thereupon the Commissioner may authorise one or more of such persons also to
exercise all or any of the powers exercisable by him under this Act, and different persons may be
authorised to exercise different powers.
(3) Any person authorised by the Commissioner to exercise any powers may exercise those powers in
the same manner and with the same effect as if they have been conferred on that person directly by this
Act and not by way of authorisation.
(4) The salaries and allowances of the Commissioner and other persons appointed under this section
shall be defrayed out of the Consolidated Fund of India.
(5) References in this Act to the Commissioner shall, where more than one Commissioner has been
appointed, be construed as references to the Commissioner in relation to the sick textile undertaking
within the local limits of the jurisdiction specified under clause (b) of sub-section (1).
18. Payment by the Central Government to the Commissioner.—(1) The Central Government
shall, within thirty days from the specified date, pay in cash to the Commissioner, for payment to the
owner of a sick textile undertaking, an amount equal to the amount specified against the sick textile
undertaking in the First Schedule and shall also pay to the Commissioner such sums as may be due to the
owner of a sick textile undertaking under sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 9.
(2) In relation to the sick textile undertakings, the management of which was taken over by the
Central Government under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 (5 of 1951), there
shall be paid by the Central Government [in addition to the amount referred to in sub-section (1)], to the
Commissioner, in cash, an amount calculated at the rate specified in section 6 of the Sick Textile
Undertakings (Taking Over of Management) Act, 1972 (72 of 1972), for the period commencing on the
date on which such management was taken over by the Central Government and ending on the appointed
day.
(3) In relation to the sick textile undertakings, the management of which was taken over by the
Central Government under the Sick Textile Undertakings (Taking Over of Management)
Act, 1972 (72 of 1972), there shall be paid by the Central Government [in addition to the amount referred
to in sub-section (1)], to the Commissioner, in cash, such amount payable under section 6 of that Act as
remains unpaid in relation to the period commencing on the date on which such management was taken
over by the Central Government and ending on the appointed day.
(4) A deposit account shall be opened by the Central Government, in favour of the Commissioner, in
the Public Account of India, and every amount paid under this Act to the Commissioner shall be
deposited by him to the credit of the said deposit account in the Public Account of India, and thereafter
the said deposit account shall be operated by the Commissioner.
(5) Separate records shall be maintained by the Commissioner in respect of each sick textile
undertaking in relation to which payments have been made to him under this Act.
(6) Interest accruing on the amounts standing to the credit of the deposit account referred to in
sub-section (4) shall inure to the benefit of the owners of the sick textile undertakings.
19. Certain powers of the National Textile Corporation.—(1) The National Textile Corporation
shall be entitled to receive, up to the specified date, to the exclusion of all other persons, any money due
to the sick textile undertaking, realised after the appointed day, notwithstanding that the realisations
pertain to a period prior to the appointed day.
(2) The National Textile Corporation may make a claim to the Commissioner with regard to every
payment made by the Custodian after the appointed day but before the date on which the Ordinance was
promulgated for discharging any liability of the owner of a sick textile undertaking in relation to any
period prior to the appointed day, and every such claim shall have priority, in accordance with the
priorities attaching under this Act, to the matter in relation to which such liability has been discharged by
the Custodian.
(3) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the liabilities in relation to a sick textile undertaking in
respect of any period prior to the appointed day which have not been discharged by the Custodian shall be
the liabilities of the owner of that sick textile undertaking.
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20. Claims to be made to the Commissioner.—Every person having a claim against the owner of a
sick textile undertaking shall prefer such claim before the Commissioner within thirty days from the
specified date:
Provided that if the Commissioner is satisfied that the claimant was prevented by sufficient cause
from preferring the claim within the said period of thirty days, he may entertain the claim within a further
period of thirty days but not thereafter.
21. Priority of claims.—The claims arising out of the matters specified in the Second Schedule shall
have priorities in accordance with the following principles, namely:—
(a) category I will have precedence over all other categories, and category II will have precedence
over category III and so on;
(b) the claims specified in each of the categories except Category IV, shall rank equally and be
paid in full, but if the amount is insufficient to meet such claims in full, they shall abate in equal
proportions and be paid accordingly;
(c) the liabilities specified in category IV shall be discharged, subject to the priorities specified in
this section, in accordance with the terms of the secured loans and the priority, inter se, of such
loans; and
(d) the question of payment of a liability with regard to a matter specified in a lower category
shall arise only if a surplus is left after meeting all the liabilities specified in the immediately higher
category.
22. Examination of claims.—(1) On receipt of the claims under section 20, the Commissioner shall
arrange the claims in the order of priority specified in the Second Schedule and examine the same in
accordance with the said order.
(2) If on examination of the claims, the Commissioner is of the opinion that the amount paid to him
under this Act is not sufficient to meet the liabilities specified by any lower category, he shall not be
required to examine the liabilities in respect of such lower category.
23. Admission or rejection of claims.—(1) After examining the claims with reference to the priority
set out in the Second Schedule, the Commissioner shall fix a certain date on or before which every
claimant shall file the proof of his claim or be excluded from the benefit of the disbursement made by the
Commissioner.
(2) Not less than fourteen days‟ notice of the date so fixed shall be given by advertisement in one
issue of the daily newspaper in the English language and one issue of the daily newspaper in the regional
language as the Commissioner may consider suitable, and every such notice shall call upon the claimant
to file the proof of his claim with the Commissioner within the time specified in the advertisement.
(3) Every claimant who fails to file the proof of his claim within the time specified by the
Commissioner shall be excluded from the disbursements made by the Commissioner.
(4) The Commissioner shall, after such investigation as may, in his opinion, be necessary and after
giving the sick textile undertaking an opportunity of refuting the claim and after giving the claimants a
reasonable opportunity of being heard, in writing, admit or reject the claim in whole or in part.
(5) The Commissioner shall have the power to regulate his own procedure in all matters arising out of
the discharge of his functions including the place or places at which he will hold his sittings and shall, for
the purpose of making any investigation under this Act, have the same powers as are vested in a civil
court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), while trying a suit, in respect of the following
matters, namely:—
(a) the summoning and enforcing the attendance of any witness and examining him on oath;
(b) the discovery and production of any document or other material object producible as
evidence;
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(c) the reception of evidence on affidavits;
(d) the issuing of any commission for the examination of witnesses.
(6) Any investigation before the Commissioner shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the
meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) and the Commissioner shall be
deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).
(7) A claimant who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Commissioner may prefer an appeal
against the decision to the principal civil court of original jurisdiction within the local limits of whose
jurisdiction the sick textile undertaking is situated:
Provided that where a person who is a Judge of a High Court is appointed to be the Commissioner,
such appeal shall lie to the High Court for the State in which the sick textile undertaking is situated, and
such appeal shall be heard and disposed of by not less than two Judges of that High Court.
24. Disbursement of money by the Commissioner to claimants.—After admitting a claim under
this Act, the amount due in respect of such claim shall be credited by the Commissioner to the relevant
fund or be paid to the person or persons to whom such sums are due and on such credit or payment the
liability of the owner in respect of such claim shall stand discharged.
25. Disbursement of amounts to the owners of sick textile undertakings.—(1) If out of the monies
paid to him in relation to a sick textile undertaking, there is a balance left after meeting the liabilities as
specified in the Second Schedule, the Commissioner shall disburse such balance to the owner of such sick
textile undertaking.
(2) Before making any payment to the owner of any sick textile undertaking under sub-section (1), the
Commissioner shall satisfy himself as to the right of such person to receive the whole or any part of such
amount, and in the event of there being a doubt or dispute as to the right of the person to receive the
whole or any part of the amount referred to in sections 8 and 9, the Commissioner shall refer the matter to
the court and make the disbursement in accordance with the decision of the court.
(3) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that the entries in column (3) of the First Schedule
shall not be deemed to be conclusive as to the right, title and interest of any person in relation to any sick
textile undertaking specified in the corresponding entries in column (2) of the said Schedule and evidence
shall be admissible to establish the right, title and interest of any person in relation to such sick textile
undertaking.
(4) Where any machinery, equipment or other property in a sick textile undertaking has vested in the
National Textile Corporation, but such machinery, equipment or other property does not belong to the
owner of such sick textile undertaking, the amount specified in column (4) of the First Schedule against
such sick textile undertaking shall, on a reference made to it by the Commissioner, be apportioned by the
court between the owner of such sick textile undertaking and the owner of such machinery, equipment or
other property having due regard to the value of such machinery, equipment or other property on the
appointed day.
Explanation.—In this section, “court,” in relation to a sick textile undertaking, means the principal
civil court of original jurisdiction within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the sick textile undertaking
is situated.
26. Undisbursed or unclaimed amounts to be deposited to the general revenue account.—Any
money paid to the Commissioner which remains undisbursed or unclaimed for a period of three years
from the last day on which the disbursement was made, shall be transferred by the Commissioner to the
general revenue account of the Central Government; but a claim to any money so transferred may be
preferred to the Central Government by the person entitled to such payment and shall be dealt with as if
such transfer had not been made, the order, if any, for payment of the claim being treated as an order for
the refund of revenue.