Section 70: Powers of trustee with approval

70. Powers of trustee with approval (1) The trustee, with the permission and subject to the directions of the committee of inspection, or of the Court, where there is no committee of inspection, may— (a) sell all or any part of the property of the bankrupt (including the goodwill of the business, if any, and the book debts due or accruing to the bankrupt), with power to transfer the whole thereof to any person or company, or sell the same in parcels; (b) carry on the business of the bankrupt so far as may be necessary for the beneficial winding up of the same; (c) bring, institute or defend any action, suit or other legal proceeding relating to the property of the bankrupt; (d) employ an attorney or other agent to take any proceedings or do any business which may be sanctioned by the committee of inspection or Court, as the case may be; (e) accept, as the price for the sale of any property of the bankrupt, a sum of money payable at a future time, subject to such stipulations as to security and otherwise as the committee of inspection or the Court thinks fit; (f) mortgage or pledge any part of the property of the bankrupt for the purpose of raising money for the payment of his debts; (g) refer any dispute to arbitration, compromise all debts, claims and liabilities, whether present or future, certain or contingent, liquidated or unliquidated, subsisting or supposed to subsist between the bankrupt and any debtor or person who may have incurred any liability to the bankrupt, upon the receipt of such sums, payable at such times, and generally upon such terms as may be agreed; [Issue 1] B4 – 30 Revised Laws of Mauritius (h) make such compromise or other arrangement as may be thought expedient with creditors or persons claiming to be creditors in respect of any provable debts, or with persons preferring claims to property in the possession of or consigned to the bankrupt; (i) pay off any secured creditor and take possession of the security and pay any sum due on goods sold to the bankrupt which have not been delivered to the bankrupt or his agent; (j) make such compromise or other arrangement as may be thought expedient with respect to any claim arising out of or incidental to the property of the bankrupt, made or capable of being made on the trustee by any person or by the trustee on any person; (k) divide in its existing form among the creditors, according to its estimated value, any property which, from its peculiar nature or other special circumstances, cannot advantageously be realised by sale; (l) disclaim any onerous property as provided by section 62. (2) The permission given for the purposes of this section shall not be a general permission to do all or any of the above mentioned things, but shall only be a permission to do the particular thing for which permission is sought in the specified case. (3) Where there is a sale of the bankrupt’s property under subsection (1) (a)— (a) the purchaser or transferee of such book-debts shall not be bound to notify the purchase or transfer to the person by whom the debt is due; (b) the sale of all movable property shall be made by public auction; (c) the formalities prescribed by section 124 of the Sale of Immovable Property Act shall apply to the sale of all immovable property except that, where the committee of inspection or the Court is satisfied that the aggregate value of the immovable property does not exceed 3,000 rupees and that it would be more advantageous to proceed with the sale of s to notify the purchase or transfer to the person by whom the debt is due; (b) the sale of all movable property shall be made by public auction; (c) the formalities prescribed by section 124 of the Sale of Immovable Property Act shall apply to the sale of all immovable property except that, where the committee of inspection or the Court is satisfied that the aggregate value of the immovable property does not exceed 3,000 rupees and that it would be more advantageous to proceed with the sale of such property by public auction, the committee of inspection or the Court may direct accordingly, notwithstanding section 124 of the Sale of Immovable Property Act.