LAHORE, Nov 20: Hope of any early end to the agony of the collapsed Taj Company depositors was belied on Tuesday when a lawyer claiming to lead one of their factions sought adjournment of proceedings aimed at working out a settlement.

Justice Jawad S. Khwaja, a Lahore High Court company judge, had before him a plan drawn up by Advocate Tariq Kamal Qazi for restructuring the company with the depositors as its shareholders.

The plan was opposed by Deputy Attorney-General Khwaja Saeeduz Zafar on behalf of the Securities and Exchange Commission, successor to the Corporate Law Authority, whose plea for the liquidation of the company to satisfy the claims of the creditors and depositors was accepted by the LHC but stayed by the Supreme Court.

The DAG said the depositors were interested in refund of their stuck-up amounts and not in revival plans which may or may not work. There were serious differences among the depositors and it was almost impossible to make them agree on a plan. The judge, however, said a meeting of the depositors having 75 per cent of the stuck-up amount was worth calling as some good may come out of it. They were free to accept or reject the plan. A date and venue for the proposed meeting of the depositors were likely to be fixed on Tuesday.

However, as the judge took up the petition, Advocate Khurram Wasti sought adjournment of the hearing to study the plan thoroughly. Justice Khwaja was surprised at the request as, he said, the depositors should be more keen on a prompt disposal. Accepting it, however, he adjourned the case for Feb 5.