Cybersecurity issue halts virtual hearings at NCLT Kolkata

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has suspended all video conferencing (VC) hearings at its Kolkata Bench following a reported cybersecurity issue.

An official order issued by the NCLT Secretariat on Tuesday stated that VC proceedings at the Kolkata Bench stand suspended with immediate effect “until clearance is received from NIC [National Informatics Centre] confirming that the systems are secure.”

The order directed stakeholder to appear physically before the Kolkata Bench until the VC facility is restored with additional safeguards.

In December 2023, the Karnataka High Court had suspended the live-streaming of its court proceedings after hinting that the video conference facility was misused.

In late 2024, the NCLT Mumbai temporarily suspended virtual hearings due to a hacking incident. It was alleged that hackers disrupted proceedings by broadcasting inappropriate content during virtual hearings.

[Read Notification]