A committee led by CJI deliberated on the following problem concerning the tenure of 23 NCLT members: The Supreme Court to the Centre

NEW DELHI: The Centre informed the Supreme Court on May 25 that a Committee chaired by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) had conducted a meeting on April 20 to discuss the tenure of 23 members of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

The Centre’s Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a vacation Bench of Justices D. Y. Chandrachud and Bela M Trivedi that the Committee, which also includes apex court judge Justice Surya Kant and the Secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, is seized of the issue and that the next meeting will be held within a week or ten days.

Solicitor General Statement-Mehta stated that the committee had considered all aspects of the matter, including character and antecedents verification reports, which are considered to be one of the most important factors in determining the suitability of the 23 members for extension of their term of office, given the sensitive nature of their responsibilities.

Now, I’m told that the next meeting will be in a week or ten days,” he stated, demanding that the Supreme Court hear the case on June 15. Mr. Mehta stated that one of the NCLT members will retire on June 20. The Court was considering a case that had generated some concerns.

The Solicitor General has submitted that the Committee chaired by the Chief Justice of India and consisting of Justice Surya Kant and the Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs met on April 20, 2022, where the question of the tenure of the twenty-three members of the National Company Law Tribunal from the 2019 batch was discussed,” the Bench noted in its Order.

“Because one of the members of that batch’s term is set to expire on June 20, 2022, the Solicitor General has requested that these hearings be set for June 15, 2022, because the committee is seized by the matter,” the Bench noted.

The highest court listened to senior counsel Maninder Singh, who represented the petitioner, and concluded that the tenure of all members of the 2019 batch will finish on July 3, 2022, despite the fact that the term should rightfully be for five years.

“List the proceedings for June 15, 2022,” the Bench ordered, adding, “We invite the Solicitor General to keep the court informed of any changes that have occurred in the interim.”