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Gujarat High Court
Union Of India vs Arcelormittal Nippon Steel India ... on 17 February, 2026
Author: Sunita Agarwal
Bench: Sunita Agarwal
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/CA/490/2026 ORDER DATED: 17/02/2026
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR CONDONATION OF DELAY) NO. 490 of
2026
In R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL/178/2026
In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION/11679/2024
With
R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 178 of 2026
In
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 11679 of 2024
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UNION OF INDIA & ANR.
Versus
ARCELORMITTAL NIPPON STEEL INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED (FORMERLY
KNOWN AS ESSAR STEEL INDIA LIMITED) & ORS.
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Appearance:
MR ANKIT SHAH(6371) for the Applicant(s) No. 1,2
MR MIHIR JOSHI, SENIOR ADVOCATE WITH MS ISA HAKIM, ADVOCATE
WITH MR YASH DADHICH, ADVOCATE FOR GANDHI LAW
ASSOCIATES(12275) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
MR DEEPAK KHOSLA ADVOCATE FOR MR. JAYDEEP M SHUKLA(6974)
for the Respondent(s) No. 2,4,5
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CORAM:HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS.
JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.N.RAY
Date : 17/02/2026
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL)
ORDER IN CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR CONDONATION
OF DELAY):-
The delay caused in filing the Letters Patent Appeal has
been explained to the satisfaction of the Court. The delay is
hereby condoned. The Civil Application stands disposed of.
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C/CA/490/2026 ORDER DATED: 17/02/2026
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The Registry is directed to allot regular number to the
appeal, forthwith.
ORDER IN LETTERS PATENT APPEAL:-
1. Having heard the learned counsels for the parties and
perused the record, pertinent is to note that the judgment and
order dated 16.10.2025 passed by the learned Single Judge in
the connected Special Civil Application No.7966 of 2025, has
been subjected to challenge before the Apex Court in Special
Leave Petition (Civil) Diary No.(s) 71659 of 2025, in case of
Anitha Rayapati, & Ors. Vs. Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India
Private Limited, & Ors., wherein while granting permission to
file Special Leave Petition and issuing notices on the question
formulated by the High Court in Paragraph-'9(ii)' of the
judgment impugned herein, passed in a group of writ petitions
leading the Special Civil Application No.11679 of 2024, the
following order has been passed by the Apex Court on
05.01.2026:-
"UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
ORDER
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/CA/490/2026 ORDER DATED: 17/02/2026
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Diary No(s).71659/2025
1. Permission to file special leave petition is granted.
2. Issue notice with a view to answering question no.(ii)
formulated by the High Court in paragraph 9 of the
judgment dated 16.10.2025, passed in R/Special Civil
Application No.11679/2024, returnable on 23.02.2026.
3. Dasti, in addition, is permitted.
SLP(C) Nos.36291-36293/2025
4. The instant special leave petitions have been filed
against the order dated 05.12.2025 passed by the
President of the National Company Law Tribunal (in short,
the "NCLT"), whereby it has disposed of a transfer
application filed by the petitioners, in a manner that is not
maintainable, in view of a judgment dated 16.10.2025
passed by the High Court of Gujarat in R/Special Civil
Application No.11679/2024.
5. We have separately cast prima facie doubt on the
correctness of the view taken by the High Court of Gujarat
in the cited decision and consequently, notice has been
issued in SLP(C) Diary No.71659/2025 to determine the
question of law formulated by the High Court in paragraph
9(ii) of the judgment dated 16.10.2025.
6. So far as the impugned order of the President of
NCLT in these special leave petitions is concerned, we
have gone through the averments made in the application
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C/CA/490/2026 ORDER DATED: 17/02/2026
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seeking transfer of TCP/131/241/AMR/2019 titled "Anitha
Rayapati & Ors. vs. BIT Corporation Pvt. Ltd.",
TCP/133/241/AMR/2019 titled "Anitha Rayapati & Ors. vs.
Tobacco Bye Products Pvt. Ltd. & Ors." and
CP/145/241/AMR/2019 titled "Anitha Rayapati & Ors. vs.
M/s. Gogeneni Tobaccos Limited & Ors.". These three
matters are pending before the Amravati Bench of the
NCLT, and the petitioners, by moving the transfer
application before the President of NCLT, sought transfer
of these cases to the NCLT, Hyderabad.
7. We have heard learned counsel for the petitioners
and perused the grounds on which the transfer was
sought.
8. The principal plea urged is that the Amravati Bench
of the NCLT had granted an interim stay on 12.10.2022,
and that during the course of hearing thereafter, a learned
Member (Technical) allegedly "threatened to vacate" the
said interim order. We are unable to accept such a
contention. The ground urged is nothing but a brazen
attempt to browbeat the Members of the Tribunal.
Proceedings cannot be transferred merely because the
Presiding Officer or a Member, during the course of
hearing, has made certain observations. Since the very
foundation of the transfer application was motivated and
entirely unjustified, we are of the considered view that the
application was rightly treated as liable to be dismissed by
the President of the NCLT, albeit on a different ground.
9. Thus, the impugned order dated 05.12.2025 of the
President of NCLT does not warrant any interference by
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this Court. However, the question of law raised in the
connected matter, which has also been filed by the
petitioners, is kept open and shall be determined in the
proceedings in which notice has been issued separately.
10. With these observations/clarifications, the special
leave petitions stand disposed of.
11. All pending applications, if any, also stand disposed
of."
2. The present intra-court appeal filed by the parties before
the writ court is also directed against the same judgment and
order dated 16.10.2025, which is subject matter of challenge
before the Apex Court on one of the issues framed and
answered by the learned Single Judge.
3. Taking note of the questions formulated in paragraph -
'9' of the judgment impugned, we are of the considered view
that both the issues framed in paragraphs - '9(i)' and '9(ii)' of
the judgment impugned are intricately linked and hence, it
would be appropriate that the challenge may be made before
the Apex Court.
4. In view of the fact that the Apex Court is already ceased
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with the matter on one of the issues. The present Letters
Patent Appeal stands disposed of accordingly, leaving the
appellants to raise all issues before the Apex Court by filing a
Special Leave Petition. We may only say that we have not
entered into the merits of the contention of the parties in view
of the order dated 05.01.2026 passed by the Apex Court.
(SUNITA AGARWAL, CJ )
(D.N.RAY,J)
A. B. VAGHELA
