Justice Anupendra Grewal has been appointed as the Chairperson of NCLT

Former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC), Justice (Retd.) Anupendra Singh Grewal has been appointed as the Chairperson of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) with the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).

His tenure will be for five years or until he attains the age of 67 years, whichever is earlier. He has replaced Bachu Venkat Balaram Das, who was serving as the Acting Chairperson of NCLT.

The Chairperson of NCLT is usually a former Chief Justice (CJ) of a High Court, but this is the first time that a former senior judge has been appointed to this position.

Established under the Companies Act, 2013, NCLT is the principal forum in the country for adjudicating matters related to company law disputes, insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, mergers and amalgamations, as well as cases involving oppression, mismanagement, and other corporate disputes.

National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)

It is a quasi-judicial body established to resolve civil corporate disputes. It was set up on 1 June 2016 under the Companies Act, 2013.

The main objective of NCLT is to provide a specialized forum for resolving disputes related to company law and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC).

It was established based on the recommendations of the Balakrishna Eradi Committee on insolvency and company winding-up laws.

Structure of NCLT:

It consists of a Chairperson (President) and a specified number of judicial and technical members as required.

The Central Government appoints these members based on their expertise in fields such as law, finance, accounting, management, and administration.

NCLT has a principal bench in New Delhi and other benches in cities such as Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kolkata.

It is not bound by the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) and follows the principles of natural justice and the rules prescribed by the Act and the Central Government.