NCLT President appointment pending with CJI since December 2025: Centre tells Delhi High Court

The Union government has told the Delhi High Court that the appointment of a regular President for the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has been pending since December 2025 since the recommendation of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) is awaited [Kaushalendra Kumar Singh Vs Union of India]..The Centre stated that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had addressed a letter to the CJI in December 2025 seeking a suitable recommendation for the post of NCLT President under Section 412(1) of the Companies Act, 2013.However, no recommendation has yet been received from the office of CJI.It said that in the absence of such recommendation, only interim arrangements could be made to ensure continuity in the functioning of the Tribunal.The government was responding to a plea by a senior technical member of NCLT, Kaushalendra Kumar Singh, challenging the appointment of judicial member Bachu Venkat Balaram Das as the acting President of the NCLT.On the constitutional framework, the Central government's affidavit highlighted that the Search-cum-Selection Committee for appointing the NCLT President is headed by the CJI or his nominee along with senior judicial and government members.This, the Centre said, underscores that the appointment process cannot be completed without the CJI’s recommendation..The office of the NCLT President fell vacant on February 13, 2026, following the retirement of Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar.Judicial Member Deep Chandra Joshi was initially given additional charge as acting President. After his tenure ended on March 16, the government appointed judicial member Bachu Venkat Balaram Das as acting President through a notification dated March 16.Singh, a technical member, has challenged this appointment before the Delhi High Court.According to Singh' plea, he is the senior-most member of the NCLT, having joined on October 1, 2021, earlier than Das, who joined on October 18, 2021.As per the petition, Section 415 of the Companies Act requires the “senior-most member”, whether judicial or technical, to be appointed as acting President in case of a vacancy.Thus, bypassing him violates Article 14 of the Constitution and is contrary to the statutory scheme, his plea said..In response to the plea, the Centre has said that following the retirement of Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar on February 13, 2026, additional charge of the post was first entrusted to judicial member Deep Chandra Joshi under Section 415(1) of the Companies Act.Section 415(1) provides that in case of a vacancy, the “senior-most member” shall act as President until a regular appointment is made.When Joshi’s tenure ended on March 16 and the CJI’s recommendation was still awaited, the government appointed judicial member Bachu Venkat Balaram Das as acting President for a period of six months or until a regular President assumes office.The Centre clarified that although certain technical members had joined earlier, the consistent convention has been to consider the senior-most judicial member for such interim charge.It added that the Companies Act and relevant rules do not expressly prescribe how inter se seniority between judicial and technical members is to be determined.Further, the post of NCLT President carries a constitutional requirement of “judicial character”, and therefore cannot be held by a technical member, the government said.It contended that since the NCLT exercises jurisdiction previously vested in High Courts, its head must possess qualifications and independence comparable to that of a High Court judge.Entrusting the office of acting President to a technical member would violate the doctrine of separation of powers and dilute judicial independence, it was submitted..Placing a technical member at the head of the tribunal, it argued, would undermine confidence in the institution’s independence and impartiality.It further pointed out that the Supreme Court has repeatedly cautioned against allowing civil servants to occupy positions requiring judicial temperament.