The Acting President of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has authorised single benches comprising judicial members to hear and dispose of certain categories of matters, in a move aimed at speeding up proceedings and reducing the backlog.
Ordinarily, matters before the NCLT are heard by division benches comprising of one judicial member and one technical member. An exception is the NCLT at Kochi, where a single judicial member bench has already been authorised to hear cases.
In an order dated April 27, the NCLT Acting President Bachu Venkat Balaram has now invoked a proviso to Section 419(3) of the Companies Act, 2013, to allow single-benches comprising judicial members at all NCLTs to deal with certain kinds of matters.
The proviso to Section 419(3) allows the constitution of single-member benches and the classification of cases that may be assigned to them.
“Single Judicial Member Benches are hereby authorised to hear and dispose of the following class of matters under the Companies Act, 2013 and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 as the case may be, subject to the limitations...,” states the April 27 order.
The order further identifies a class of procedural, uncontested and urgent matters that single-judicial member benches may hear, in the interest of timely disposal of cases, reduction of pendency, and efficient case management.
The order states that single-judicial member benches could handle mainly routine and uncontested matters, including the following.
- Basic procedural matters as early hearing requests, ensuring filings are completed on time, giving procedural directions to the Registry.
- Applications for condonation of delay.
- Insolvency timeline extension related matters, such as pleas to extend the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP), and pleas for the extension of the liquidation period, provided, that these matters do not involve complex questions and such requests are unopposed.
- Pleas for the extension of interim relief already granted by a division bench.
- Pleas seeking uncontested changes in roles or parties, including the replacement or confirmation of appointment of Interim Resolution Professionals (IRPs), Resolution Professionals (RPs), or liquidators and the pleas for the substitution of parties or legal representatives.
- Other routine matters, such as taking reports of resolution professionals on record and recording changes in the Committee of Creditors (CoC) (group of lenders in insolvency cases), where such requests are uncontested.
Additionally the order laid down a few safeguards:
- The final adjudication of contested matters affecting substantive rights (core legal rights of parties) is not to be undertaken by a single judicial member.
- If any party requested that a matter be heard by a division bench, it has to be placed before such a bench.
- Matters outside the specified categories can not be taken up by a single judicial member bench.
The order is to take immediate effect and is to apply to all NCLT benches, unless directed otherwise.
[Read Order]