In Brief
Usha Ananthasubramanian, former MD & CEO of Punjab National Bank, challenged orders by the NCLT and NCLAT that froze her personal assets under Sections 337 and 339 of the Companies Act. These provisions relate to fraud and mis-management in a company's winding-up. The NCLT had sought to attach her assets due to alleged knowledge of fraud at Gitanjali Gems Ltd, a separate company. The Supreme Court held that Sections 337 and 339 apply only to fraudulent conduct within the specific company being wound up, not to officers of unrelated entities. The Court set aside the asset-freezing orders, holding they exceeded the NCLT's jurisdiction ratione materiae.
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