National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)

What is NCLAT?

NCLAT is the Appellate Tribunal for hearing appeals against the orders of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). It is also responsible for hearing appeals against the orders passed by NCLT(s) under Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), with effect from December 1, 2016.

NCLAT is also the Appellate Tribunal for hearing appeals against the orders passed by Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India under Section 202 and Section 211 of IBC.

It also hears appeals against any direction issued or decision made or order passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) – as per the amendment brought to Section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013 by Section 172 of the Finance Act, 2017, with effect from 26th May, 2017.

When was it constituted?

The tribunal was established under the Companies Act 2013 and was constituted on June 1 2016 by the government of India.

Who are the members of NCLAT?

As of December 2019, Justice S J Mukhopadhaya, former judge of the Supreme Court, is the current chairperson of NCLAT.

The other members of the tribunal include Balvinder Singh (Technical), Justice A I S Cheema (Judicial), Justice Bansi Lal Bhat (Judicial), Kanthi Narahari (Technical), Justice Venugopal M (Judicial), Justice Jarat Kumar Jain (Judicial), Vijai Pratap Singh (Technical), Dr Ashok Kumar Mishra (Technical).

Are NCLAT decisions binding?

NCLAT decisions can be challenged in the Supreme Court on a point of law. In some cases, NCLAT decisions have been overturned by the Supreme Court, like in the case of Arcelor Mittal when the top court set aside the tribunal’s order to pave way for the global steel giant to acquire Essar Steel.

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