• The government has appointed Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar, former chief justice of Manipur High Court, as president of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

• Also, it has appointed Justice Ashok Bhushan, a former judge of the Supreme Court, as chairperson of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

• The NCLT, which is handling important insolvency-related matters, was functioning without a permanent president after the retirement of Justice M M Kumar on January 5, 2020.

• The NCLT and NCLAT also have a shortage of members and the situation had invited the ire of the Supreme Court.

• Last month, the government had appointed 21 members — 11 judicial members and 10 technical members — to various benches of the NCLT.

• Presently, the NCLT and NCLAT, like other judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, are conducting virtual hearing of cases.

What is the NCLT?

• The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is a quasi-judicial body that adjudicates issues relating to Indian companies.

• The NCLT was established under the Companies Act, 2013, and was constituted on June 1, 2016 by the Union government.

• It was based on the recommendation of the Justice Eradi Committee on law relating to insolvency and winding up of companies. All proceedings under the Companies Act, including proceedings relating to arbitration, compromise, arrangements and reconstruction and winding up of companies, shall be disposed of by the NCLT.

• It is tasked with the key job of helping recover corporate loans.

• The NCLT is the adjudicating authority for insolvency resolution process of companies and limited liability partnerships under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

• Decisions of the NCLT may be appealed at the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). The NCLAT decisions can be challenged at the Supreme Court on a point of law.

• NCLT, besides a principal bench at New Delhi, has fourteen other benches — Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cuttack, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Jaipur, Kochi, Amravati, and Indore. 

What is the NCLAT?

• The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) was constituted under Section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013, for hearing appeals against the orders of NCLT.

• It was established on June 1, 2016.

• It has two benches — one principal bench at New Delhi and the other in Chennai

• The NCLAT is the appellate tribunal for hearing appeals against the orders passed by NCLT(s) under Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), with effect from December 1, 2016.

• The NCLAT is the appellate tribunal for hearing appeals against the orders passed by Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India under Section 202 and Section 211 of IBC.

• It is the appellate tribunal to hear and dispose of appeals against any direction issued or decision made or order passed by the Competition Commission of India - as per the amendment brought to Section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013, by Section 172 of the Finance Act, 2017, with effect from May 26, 2017.

• It is also the appellate tribunal to hear and dispose of appeals against the orders of the National Financial Reporting Authority.

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