The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) is a tribunal which was formed by the Central Government of India under Section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013. The NCLAT was formed as a body with an appellate jurisdiction at the same time when NCLT was established as a major reform as per powers granted to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in India.
On 8 November 2021, Justice Ashok Bhushan has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal.[2]
History and objective
National Company Law Appellate Tribunal was formed on 1 June 2016 under The Companies Act 2013.[3] The tribunal was formed as appellate authority to the aggrieved persons against the orders of National Company Law Tribunal which were passed under Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
The decisions of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal are appealable in the Supreme Court of India. National Company Law Appellate Tribunal has principle bench in Delhi and other one in Chennai.[4]
Structure of NCLAT
The NCLAT includes a Chairperson, 3 judicial members, and 2 technical members.[5] It consists of a total of not more than eleven members.[3] Ashok Bhushan, retired judge of Supreme Court is the current chairman of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.[6]
Qualifications for Judicial member at National Company Law Appellate Tribunal:
Should be of 50 years old.
Served at least 5 years as District Judge or High Court Judge or has a minimum 10 years experience serving in any judicial authority.
Qualifications for Technical member at National Company Law Appellate Tribunal:
Any person holding the rank of Secretary or Additional Secretary to the central government and is a member of the Indian Corporate Law Service or Indian Legal Service for more than 15 years.
Powers and functions
Following are the powers and functions of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.