On Monday, while raising concerns over the irregular and inconsistent pattern of appointments and postings within the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the Supreme Court orally urged the Union government to devise a systematic approach for managing Tribunal personnel. The Court noted that the current state of affairs reveals a “very deep problem” warranting immediate administrative attention.
A Bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh made these observations while hearing a batch of petitions, including a public interest litigation filed by the Madras Bar Association, concerning structural deficiencies and vacancies across various Tribunals in India. The proceedings notably addressed the absence of full-time judicial and technical members at the NCLT Indore Bench, which had been flagged in an application filed by the High Court Bar Association, Indore. “There’s an application filed by High Court Bar Association, Indore...it’s disturbing...it says no full time judicial/technical member is posted in the NCLT Indore bench...[we] don’t want to make it part of judicial order today. Something needs to be done to regulate transfers and postings in NCLT, there’s a very deep problem,” said the Bench.
The Court refrained from passing a formal direction at this stage but clearly indicated that the lack of a coherent policy governing postings was impeding the effective functioning of Tribunals. The Bench directed the Union government and the President of the NCLT to explore the immediate posting of one judicial and one technical member to the Indore Bench and to file a compliance report.
The hearing also revisited the broader issue of Tribunal vacancies. The Attorney General submitted that the Union was making substantial progress in filling pending vacancies and requested additional time to place the latest data and proposals on record. Accepting the request, the Court adjourned the matter while urging the government to expedite the consultative process outlined in its earlier orders.
The Bench also referred to an application filed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Bar Association concerning premature retirements, emphasising that members appointed under the previous statutory regime cannot be compelled to retire before attaining the age of 62. “The most important thing is with respect to conditions of service of those members who came to be appointed before this new enactment came. Their conditions can’t be affected, we have passed an order prima facie…they are entitled to continue till [age of] 62,” the Bench remarked.
Further, the Bench indicated that the concerns raised in the batch of petitions were not confined to staffing issues alone but touched upon foundational aspects of Tribunal governance. It reiterated the need to consider advance planning in the selection process, especially since the tenure completion dates of Tribunal members are known in advance.
Senior Advocate Arvind Datar has been requested to submit a detailed report on commercial Tribunals, particularly in light of divergent superannuation norms and administrative practices across jurisdictions. Meanwhile, suggestions from members of the Bar, including Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, have also been invited to assist the Attorney General in framing recommendations for improving the institutional structure and working conditions of Tribunals.
In earlier proceedings, the Court had proposed the constitution of Circuit Benches as a possible reform measure to enhance access to justice, especially in underserved regions.
The matter will be taken up again after the Union places its status report on appointments and steps taken towards institutional reforms.
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