Dionisius Arjuna Dias, (Former Chairman Cupid Industries) vs Assistant Commissioner of Labour (Termination) – SC APPEAL 34/2011-2025

The court addressed the issue of whether directors who have voluntarily assumed a company’s statutory liability may later repudiate that liability in enforcement proceedings, especially where winding-up proceedings have subsequently been commenced. It was held that directors who have expressly or implicitly admitted personal liability cannot defeat enforcement by invoking corporate liquidation proceedings initiated in close temporal proximity to enforcement actions. The court reaffirmed the principle that the institution of winding-up proceedings does not nullify a personal liability previously assumed by directors for statutory dues owed to employees. This determination was grounded in the interpretation of Sections 259 and 264 of the Companies Act, No. 17 of 1982, and supported by evalua