Topic 53 Registrar Powers Section68to75

THE LEGAL BRIDGE

Judiciary Examination Study Material

Topic 53

Registrar's Powers — Inspection & Strike-off

Sections 68–75: Inspection, Call for Information, Strike-off & Restoration

Pillar 6 — Investigation & Regulatory Powers (Sections 43–57)

Module Overview

The Registrar of Companies exercises important regulatory powers over LLPs under Sections 68–75. These include inspection of public documents, calling for information, enforcing compliance, and most significantly striking off defunct LLPs from the register. This topic covers the complete range of Registrar powers, the strike-off procedure, and the 5-year restoration mechanism.

53.1 Registrar's Powers — Overview (Sections 68–75)

Section	Power	Content
Section 68	Public inspection	Any person may inspect LLP documents filed with Registrar on payment of fee — available on MCA21
Section 69	Call for information	Registrar can require LLP/partners to provide information within specified time
Section 70	Enforce duty to file	Registrar can apply to court for order compelling LLP to comply with filing obligations
Section 71	Legal proceedings	Registrar authorised to institute legal proceedings against LLP for contraventions
Section 75	Strike-off	Registrar may strike off defunct LLP's name from the register

53.2 Section 75 — Strike-Off of Defunct LLP

Section 75(1)

The Registrar may strike off the name of a limited liability partnership from the register if he has reasonable cause to believe that the LLP is not carrying on any business or its operations.

Ground for Strike-Off	Trigger	Process
LLP is defunct	Not carrying on business; has not filed annual returns for 2 consecutive years	Registrar issues show-cause notice; LLP has 30 days to respond; no response = strike-off
Voluntary application by LLP	LLP applies for dissolution	Partners' consent; liabilities discharged; application in prescribed form
Post-investigation strike-off	CG instructs Registrar after inspector's report	Fast-tracked; used when fraud is established

53.3 Section 75(4) — Restoration Within 5 Years

A struck-off LLP can be restored to the register within five years of the strike-off date:

By Registrar: On application by the LLP — if struck off due to administrative default and LLP can demonstrate it was not defunct.
By NCLT: If any creditor or partner can show the LLP was carrying on business at the time of strike-off, or that it is just and equitable to restore it.
Retrospective effect: Restoration is retrospective — the LLP is deemed to have never been struck off; all rights, assets, and obligations are revived.

⚖ Chhattisgarh Distilleries Ltd. v. Registrar of Companies HC (2018) — applied to LLP

Held: The court held that before striking off, the Registrar must give a reasonable opportunity to the entity to show cause — natural justice applies. The 30-day response window is a mandatory procedural requirement.

Principle: Natural justice requires show-cause notice before strike-off — the 30-day response window is mandatory.

📌 EXAM TIP: Strike-off exam points: (1) Section 75 — Registrar may strike off if LLP is defunct; (2) Primary trigger: non-filing for 2 consecutive years; (3) Procedure: show-cause notice + 30-day response window; (4) Restoration: within 5 years — by Registrar or NCLT; (5) Restoration is retrospective — entity deemed never struck off.

Key Point	Core Content
Section 68	Public inspection of LLP documents on MCA21 portal
Section 69	Registrar can call for information from LLP/partners
Section 75	Strike-off — defunct LLP; non-filing for 2 consecutive years
Natural justice	30-day show-cause notice mandatory before strike-off
Restoration	Within 5 years; by Registrar or NCLT; retrospective effect
Section 70	Registrar can apply to court to compel compliance with filing obligations