The Bengal Immunity Company Limited (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1984 was enacted on August 29, 1984 for the purpose of acquiring and assigning the establishments of the Bengal Immunity Company Limited for the general Interest of the public. The Bengal Immunity Company was undergoing the manufacture and allocation of commodities that are prescribed in the Schedule I as provided under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 which consists of chemical compounds, medicines as well as pharmaceuticals that are necessary to fulfill the requirements of the public. The Central Government considered it essential after conducting scrutiny over the dealings of the Company that the administration of the Company was immensely essential as per the provisions of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 and such management shall be done by a group of persons. It was also indispensable for restructuring and rehabilitating the establishments that are under the control of the Company in order to comply with the needs of the public by increasing the manufacture and allocation of various types of chemical compounds, medicines etc and also growing the supply of these materials. The Act therefore came into force on October 1, 1984.
According to the provisions of the enactment, the existing Government Company is the Company which is performing the functions from the date of commencement of the enactment. The new Government is the Company which is created and entered in the register on the initiation of the Act. By virtue of the Act, from the date of commencement the establishment under the Company and the all the privileges, identity as well as rights of the Company with regard to the establishment shall be reassigned and its control shall be with the Government of India. The establishments shall be considered to embrace of the properties, authority, machinery, structures, industries, office equipments, cash accounts, balances, ownership, records, registers, documents etc. The entire assets that are assigned to the Government of India shall be released from any liabilities including any trust, lien as well as encumbrances. It shall also be discharged from the court proceedings and such pending litigation’s shall be withdrawn. Moreover, the persons who are holding the properties under the establishments shall provide, in the specified period, a hint to the Commissioner who is under charge of such mortgage or any liabilities.
For the purpose of transparency, the Act states that the mortgagee who is holding the property and the persons having control over such property shall have the authority to demand as per the terms of the enactment, according to the privileges and concern, the repayment of the amount which is due from the funds and from the fund retained from mortgage and shall be imposed with regard to that assets that are under the control of the Central Government. The license as well as other documents which are issued to the Company connected with such establishments under the authority of the Government of India during any period prior to the implementation of the enactment shall persist for the proper functioning of the establishments in the manner stated under the present Act. The judicial proceedings connected with the assets that are assigned with the Government of India which is initiated against the establishment, such proceedings shall not come to an end and such litigation shall carry on and shall be changed to the name of the Central Government. The obligations before April 1, 1983 shall be the accountability of the Company and such amount shall be taken from the Company and the Central Government shall not be accountable for the liability. The Act further states that all the persons prior to the commencement of the Act be worked under the establishments of the Company shall from the date of initiation of the Act, work under the Government of India. In order to effectively implement the provisions of the enactment, the Central Government is given power to frame rules.