Madras HC seeks all details of National Company Law Tribunal third bench in Chennai – Times of India

CHENNAI: Not ensuring proper functioning of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) will not only affect litigants but also the country’s economy, the Madras high court has said.
If the authorities do not fill vacancies and take steps to ensure proper functioning of such tribunals, what is the purpose of establishing them, the first bench of acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice P D Audikesavalu asked on Tuesday.
The court made the observations while hearing a public interest writ petition by chartered accountant V Venkata Siva Kumar, seeking a direction to the Union ministry of corporate affairs to take immediate steps for functioning of a third NCLT bench at Chennai. Even the NCLT’s second bench works for only three hours a day as the technical member has to discharge duties at NCLT’s Cochin bench, he added.
When the plea came up for hearing, counsel for NCLT submitted that both benches in Chennai are fully operational with the required members.
Since the submission contradicted that of the petitioner, the court directed counsel for the NCLT to find out if one technical member was discharging duties at Chennai and Cochin bench, thereby affecting the tribunal’s working.
“If it is found that between the two benches only one technical member is nominated, the authorities are directed to explain the same,” it said and adjourned the hearing to December 6.
The petitioner said the required infrastructure facilities were made ready in 2018, but the third bench is not functional since 2019.