CJI-led panel mulls extending tenure of 23 NCLT members

Representative image.

A committee headed by the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana is deliberating on the question of extending the tenure of as many as 23 members of the National Company Law Tribunals across the country.

The NCLTs are courts of first instance for hearing company law matters as well as cases under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The sanctioned strength for these tribunals stands at 63 of which 23 are set to demit office in 2022.

The members appointed to NCLT in the batch of 2019 appointments were given a tenure of three years as opposed to the statutory term of five years. The government notification to this effect was challenged before the Supreme Court and the case was taken up for hearing by a vacation bench of the apex court on May 25.

During the hearing, however, the government counsel told the court that deliberations on the issue of extending the tenure of members are on. The panel headed by the CJI had last met in April wherein the character and verification reports of the members' antecedents were perused.

The next meeting of the panel is scheduled to be held within the next 10 days, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court today.

Keeping in view that the issue is being dealt with by a committee headed by the CJI himself, the court deferred the hearing in the case till June 15.

The first retirement among NCLT members for the year 2022 is scheduled for June 20 before which a decision on the extension of tenure is expected.

Not just the NCLT but the tribunal system in India has been facing an acute shortage of members to man the fora. The top court had pulled up the government in the past to speed up the process of appointments to ensure that the functioning of the tribunals does not face a challenge in the wake of large vacancies.

With NCLTs being the forum of first instance for insolvency resolution cases, the delay in deciding cases is often attributed to the inability to stick to the strict timelines laid down in the law. These delays, many stakeholders believe, are caused as a result of the tribunals being understaffed and overburdened.