1. NATIONAL COMPANY LAW TRIBUNAL & NATIONAL COMPANY LAW APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
ANIL D. NAIR
ADVOCATE

2. TRIBUNAL A tribunal is a quasi-judicial authority established by law
Literal meaning- “Seat of Justice”
Essentials of a Tribunal-
a) Duty to act judicially
b) Trappings of a Court
c) Delegation of Judicial Functions of the State
TRIBUNAL

3. BENEFITS OF TRIBUNALS Specialisation Easing the workload of Courts
Cost-effective justice delivery
Speed
Lack of procedural rigours
BENEFITS OF TRIBUNALS

4. ARGUMENTS AGAINST TRIBUNALS
Lack of judicial expertise
Lack of public trust
Post-retirement havens
Prone to corruption and nepotism
Sprawling litigation
ARGUMENTS AGAINST TRIBUNALS

5. TIMELINE
2000
Report of High Level Committee on Law Relating to Insolvency and Winding Up of Companies (Eradi Committee) recommends constitution of NCLT
2002
Companies (Amendment) Act, 2002 introduces NCLT and NCLAT
2004
Madras High Court in R.Gandhi v. Unioun of India upholds NCLT and NCLAT
2010
Supreme Court affirms the decision Madras High Court. Suggest amendments in the composition of NCLT and Selection Committee
2013
Companies Act, 2013
2015
Supreme Court upholds the NCLT and NCLAT under Companies Act, 2013 and orders amendments to the provisions
2016
Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2016

6. NATIONAL COMPANY LAW TRIBUNAL
NCLT to be constituted by Central Government by Notification
NCLT to consist of
a) President
b) Judicial Members
c) Technical Members

7. President- present or former Judge of a High Court for 5 years
Judicial Member-
(a) is, or has been, a judge of a High Court;
(b) is, or has been, a District Judge for at least five years;
(c) has, for at least ten years been an advocate of a court
Technical Member-
(a) Member of Indian Corporate Law Service for 15 Years in pay scale of Joint Secretary;
(b) is, or has been, in practice as a chartered accountant for at least fifteen years
QUALIFICATIONS

8. (c) is, or has been, in practice as a cost accountant for at least fifteen years; (d) is, or has been, in practice as a company secretary for at least fifteen years; (e) is a person of proven ability, integrity and standing having special knowledge and experience, of not less than fifteen years, in law, industrial finance, industrial management or administration, industrial reconstruction, investment, accountancy, labour matters, or such other disciplines related to management, conduct of affairs, revival, rehabilitation and winding up of companies; (f) is, or has been, for at least five years, a presiding officer of a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal constituted under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

9. TERM President- 5 years or till the age of 67 years
Members- 5 years or till the age of 65 years
Eligible for re-appointment for a further period of 5 years
Minimum age for appointment as Member- 50 Years
Member may retain his lien with his parent cadre or Ministry or Department while holding office as such for a period not exceeding one year
TERM

10. NATIONAL COMPANY LAW APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
NCLAT to be constituted by Central Government by Notification
Consists of
i) Chairperson
ii) Judicial Members
iii) Technical Members
NATIONAL COMPANY LAW APPELLATE TRIBUNAL

11. President- present or former Judge of Supreme Court or Chief Justice of a High Court
Judicial Member-
a) Present/ Former Judge of a High Court
b) Judicial member of NCLT for 5 years
Technical Member- a person of proven ability, integrity and standing having special knowledge and experience, of not less than twenty-five years, in law, industrial finance, industrial management or administration, industrial reconstruction, investment, accountancy, labour matters, or such other disciplines related to management, conduct of affairs, revival, rehabilitation and winding up of companies.
QUALIFICATIONS

12. TERM Chairperson- 5 years or till the age of 70 years
Members- 5 years or till the age of 67 years
Eligible for re-appointment for 5 years
Minimum age for appointment as Member- 50 years
Member may retain his lien with his parent cadre or Ministry or Department while holding office as such for a period not exceeding one year
TERM

13. President/Chairperson/Judicial Member of NCLAT- in consultation of the Chief Justice of India
Members of NCLT/ Technical Members of NCLAT- on recommendation of Selection Committee
Selection Committee- consists of
(a) Chief Justice of India or his nominee—Chairperson;
(b) a senior Judge of the Supreme Court or a Chief Justice of High Court— Member;
(c) Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs—Member/Convenor;
(d) Secretary in the Ministry of Law and Justice—Member;
(e) Secretary in the Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance— Member
APPOINTMENT

14. Central Government to remove members only after consulting the CJI
Grounds for Removal:
a) insolvency
b) physical/mental incapacity
c) conflict of interest
d) abuse of office
e) proved misbehavior (only after enquiry by a Judge of the Supreme Court)
Members may resign by notice in writing to Central Government
REMOVAL

15. BENCHES Principal Bench at New Delhi
Powers of NCLT and NCLAT to be exercised by benches consisting of a Judicial Member and a Technical Member
Any vacancy in bench not to invalidate the proceedings
Bench not bound by provision of Code of Civil Procedure
Powers of a Civil Court
NCLT and NCLAT have power to punish for Contempt
BENCHES

16. PROCEDURE Principles of Natural Justice- Personal Hearing
Appropriate Orders to be signed by Members
Orders to be supplied to all the Parties to the proceedings
Expeditious disposal- within 3months from date of filing
Rules on procedure to be framed- E-filing to be adopted
PROCEDURE

17. NCLT NCLAT SUPREME COURT APPEALS
APPEALS TO BE PREFERRED IN 45 DAYS OF RECEIPT OF ORDER

18. TRANSFER OF PROCEEDINGS
Pending matters to be transferred to NCLT
Subsumes jurisdiction of
a) High Court
b) Company Law Board
c) BIFR
d) AAIFR
Rules to be framed for procedure to be adopted on transfer
TRANSFER OF PROCEEDINGS

19. COMPARISON

20. COMPANIES ACT, 1956
COMPANIES ACT, 2013
10FB. CONSTITUTION OF NATIONAL COMPANY LAW TRIBUNAL
The Central Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute a Tribunal to be known as the National Company Law Tribunal to exercise and discharge such powers and functions as are, or may be, conferred on it by or under this Act or any other law for the time being in force.
10FC. COMPOSITION OF TRIBUNAL
The Tribunal shall consist of a President and such number of Judicial and Technical Members not exceeding sixty two, as the Central Government deems fit, to be appointed by that Government, by notification in the Official Gazette.
408. CONSTITUTION OF NATIONAL COMPANY LAW TRIBUNAL
The Central Government shall, by notification, constitute, with effect from such date as may be specified therein, a Tribunal to be known as the National Company Law Tribunal consisting of a President and such number of Judicial and Technical members, as the Central Government may deem necessary, to be appointed by it by notification, to exercise and discharge such powers and functions as are, or may be, conferred on it by or under this Act or any other law for the time being in force.
10FD. QUALIFICATIONS FOR APPOINTMENT OF PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS
(1) The Central Government shall appoint a person who has been, or is qualified to be, a Judge of a High Court as the President of the Tribunal.
409. Qualification of President and Members of Tribunal
(1) The President shall be a person who is or has been a Judge of a High Court for five years

21. (2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as Judicial Member unless he –
(a) has, for at least fifteen years, held a judicial office in the territory of India ; or
(b) has, for at least ten years been an advocate of a High Court, or has partly held judicial office and has been partly in practice as an advocate for a total period of fifteen years ; or
(c) has held for at least fifteen years a Group `A' post or an equivalent post under the Central Government or a State Government [including at least three years of service as a Member of the Indian Company Law Service (Legal Branch) in Senior Administrative Grade in that service] ; or
(d) has held for at least fifteen years a Group `A' post or an equivalent post under the Central Government (including at least three years of service as a Member of the Indian Legal Service in Grade I of that service).
(2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judicial Member unless he—
(a) is, or has been, a judge of a High Court; or
(b) is, or has been, a District Judge for at least five years; or
(c) has, for at least ten years been an advocate of a court

22. (3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as Technical Member unless he –
(a) has held for, at least fifteen years a Group `A' post or an equivalent post under the Central Government or a State Government [including at least three years of service as a Member of the Indian Company Law Service, (Accounts Branch) in Senior Administrative Grade in that service] ; or
(b) is, or has been, a Joint Secretary to the Government of India under the Central Staffing Scheme, or any other post under the Central Government or a State Government carrying a scale of pay which is not less than that of a Joint Secretary to the Government of India for at least five years and has adequate knowledge of, and experience in, dealing with problems relating to company law ; or
(c) is, or has been, for at least fifteen years in practice as a chartered accountant under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (38 of 1949); or
(3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Technical Member unless he—
(a) has, for at least fifteen years been a member of the Indian Corporate Law Service or Indian Legal Service out of which at least three years shall be in the pay scale of Joint Secretary to the Government of India or equivalent or above in that service; or (b) is, or has been, in practice as a chartered accountant for at least fifteen years; or
(c) is, or has been, in practice as a cost accountant for at least fifteen years; or
(d) is, or has been, in practice as a company secretary for at least fifteen years; or
(e) is a person of proven ability, integrity and standing having special knowledge and experience, of not less than fifteen years, in law, industrial finance, industrial management or administration, industrial reconstruction, investment, accountancy, labour matters, or such other disciplines related to management, conduct of affairs, revival, rehabilitation and winding up of companies; or

23. (d) is, or has been, for at least fifteen years in practice as a cost accountant under the Costs and Works Accountants Act, 1959 (23 of 1959); or
(e) is, or has been, for at least fifteen years working experience as a secretary in whole-time practice as defined in clause (45A) of section 2 of this Act and is a member of the Institute of the Companies Secretaries of India constituted under the Company Secretaries Act, 1980 (56 of 1980) ; or
(f) is a person of ability, integrity and standing having special knowledge of, and professional experience of not less than twenty years in, science, technology, economics, banking, industry, law, matters relating to industrial finance, industrial management, industrial reconstruction, administration, investment, accountancy, marketing or any other matter, the special knowledge of, or professional experience in, which would be in the opinion of the Central Government useful to the Tribunal ; or
(g) is, or has been, a Presiding Officer of a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal constituted under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947) ; or
(h) is a person having special knowledge of, and experience of not less than fifteen years in, the matters relating to labour.
(f) is, or has been, for at least five years, a presiding officer of a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal constituted under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

24. 10FE. TERM OF OFFICE OF PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS The President and every other Member of the Tribunal shall hold office as such for a term of three years from the date on which he enters upon his office but shall be eligible for re-appointment :
Provided that no President or other Member shall hold office as such after he has attained, -
(a) in the case of the President, the age of sixty-seven years ;
(b) in the case of any other Member, the age of sixty-five years :
Provided further that the President or other Member may retain his lien with his parent cadre or Ministry or Department, as the case may be, while holding office as such.
413. (1) The President and every other Member of the Tribunal shall hold office as such for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office, but shall be eligible for re-appointment for another term of five years.
(2) A Member of the Tribunal shall hold office as such until he attains,— (a) in the case of the President, the age of sixty-seven years; (b) in the case of any other Member, the age of sixty-five years:
Provided that a person who has not completed fifty years of age shall not be eligible for appointment as Member:
Provided further that the Member may retain his lien with his parent cadre or Ministry or Department, as the case may be, while holding office as such for a period not exceeding one year

25. 10FR. CONSTITUTION OF APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
(1) The Central Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute with effect from such date as may be specified therein, an Appellate Tribunal to be called the "National Company Law Appellate Tribunal" consisting of a Chairperson and not more than two Members, to be appointed by that Government, for hearing appeals against the orders of the Tribunal under this Act.
(2) The Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal shall be a person who has been, a Judge of the Supreme Court or the Chief Justice of a High Court.
(3) A Member of the Appellate Tribunal shall be a person of ability, integrity; and standing having special knowledge of, and professional experience of not less than twenty-five years in, science, technology, economics, banking, industry, law, matters relating to labour, industrial finance, industrial management, industrial reconstruction, administration, investment, accountancy, marketing or any other matter, the special knowledge of, or professional experience in which, would be in the opinion of the Central Government useful to the Appellate Tribunal.
410. Constitution of Appellate Tribunal
The Central Government shall, by notification, constitute, with effect from such date as may be specified therein, an Appellate Tribunal to be known as the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal consisting of a chairperson and such number of Judicial and Technical Members, not exceeding eleven, as the Central Government may deem fit, to be appointed by it by notification, for hearing appeals against the orders of the Tribunal.
411. Qualifications of chairperson and Members of Appellate Tribunal
(1) The chairperson shall be a person who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court or the Chief Justice of a High Court.
(2) A Judicial Member shall be a person who is or has been a Judge of a High Court or is a Judicial Member of the Tribunal for five years.
(3) A Technical Member shall be a person of proven ability, integrity and standing having special knowledge and experience, of not less than twenty-five years, in law, industrial finance, industrial management or administration, industrial reconstruction, investment, accountancy, labour matters, or such other disciplines related to management, conduct of affairs, revival, rehabilitation and winding up of companies.

26. 10FT. TERM OF OFFICE OF CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS
The Chairperson or a Member of the Appellate Tribunal shall hold office as such for a term of three years from the date on which he enters upon his office, but shall be eligible for re-appointment for another term of three years : Provided that no Chairperson or other Member shall hold office as such after he has attained, - (a) in the case of the Chairperson, the age of seventy years ;
(b) in the case of any other Member, the age of sixty-seven years
413. (3) The chairperson or a Member of the Appellate Tribunal shall hold office as such for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office, but shall be eligible for re-appointment for anonther term of five years.
(4) A Member of the Appellate Tribunal shall hold office as such until he attains,—
(a) in the case of the Chairperson, the age of seventy years;
(b) in the case of any other Member, the age of sixty-seven years: Provided that a person who has not completed fifty years of age shall not be eligible for appointment as Member:
Provided further that the Member may retain his lien with his parent cadre or Ministry or Department, as the case may be, while holding office as such for a period not exceeding one year.

27. 10FX. SELECTION COMMITTEE
(1) The Chairperson and Members of the Appellate Tribunal and President and Members of the Tribunal shall be appointed by the Central Government on the recommendations of a Selection Committee consisting of –
(a) Chief Justice of India or his nominee -Chairperson ;
(b) Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Company Affairs -Member ;
(c) Secretary in the Ministry of Labour -Member ;
(d) Secretary in the Ministry of Law and Justice (Department of Legal Affairs or Legislative Department) -Member ;
(e) Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Company -Member. Affairs (Department of Company Affairs)
(2) The Joint Secretary in the Ministry or Department of the Central Government dealing with this Act shall be the Convenor of the Selection Committee.
412. Selection of Members of Tribunal and Appellate Tribunal
(1) The President of the Tribunal and the chairperson and Judicial Members of the Appellate Tribunal, shall be appointed after consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
(2) The Members of the Tribunal and the Technical Members of the Appellate Tribunal shall be appointed on the recommendation of a Selection Committee consisting of—
(a) Chief Justice of India or his nominee—Chairperson;
(b) a senior Judge of the Supreme Court or a Chief Justice of High Court— Member;
(c) Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs—Member;
(d) Secretary in the Ministry of Law and Justice—Member; and
(e) Secretary in the Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance— Member.
(3) The Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs shall be the Convener of the Selection Committee.

28. (3) The Central Government shall, within one month from the date of occurrence of any vacancy by reason of death, resignation or removal of the Chairperson and Members of the Appellate Tribunal and President and Members of the Tribunal and six months before the superannuation or end of tenure of the Chairperson and Members of the Appellate Tribunal and President and Members of the Tribunal, make a reference to the Selection Committee for filling up of the vacancy.
(4) The Selection Committee shall recommend within one month a panel of three names for every vacancy referred to it.
(5) Before recommending any person for appointment as the Chair- person and Members of the Appellate Tribunal and President and Members of the Tribunal, the Selection Committee shall satisfy itself that such person does not have financial or other interest which is likely to affect prejudicially his functions as such Chairperson or Member of the Appellate Tribunal or President or Member of the Tribunal, as the case may be.
(6) No appointment of the Chairperson and Members of the Appellate Tribunal and President and Members of the Tribunal shall be invalidated merely by reason of any vacancy or any defect in the constitution of the Selection Committee.
(4) The Selection Committee shall determine its procedure for recommending persons under sub-section (2).
(5) No appointment of the Members of the Tribunal or the Appellate Tribunal shall be invalid merely by reason of any vacancy or any defect in the constitution of the Selection Committee.

29. CONCLUSION Hierarchy of tribunals Dedicated for company matters
Opportunity for lawyers, CA, CS and CWA in both Bench and Bar
Recruitment and preparation of infrastructure under way
Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2016 passed by Lok Sabha
CONCLUSION

30. QUERY TIME

31. THANK YOU ANIL D. NAIR ADVOCATE ADN & ASSOCIATES 39/2661, 2nd FLOOR
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