Lawyer moves HC over delay in constituting NCLAT in Chennai

CHENNAI: A lawyer has moved the Madras High Court over the delay in setting up the southern bench of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in Chennai. In his petition, he alleged that no action has been taken despite the Attorney-General’s assurance to the apex court that the circuit bench of NCALT would be established in six months.

Advocate GV Mohan Kumar submitted that the delay in setting up an NCLAT bench at Chennai has made it difficult to hear appeals moved from NCLTs in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.

He pointed out the submissions made by the Attorney General in the Supreme Court that the NCLAT circuit benches would be constituted within six months and also the notification issued by the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs on March 13, 2020, for the establishment of the NCLAT bench at Chennai.

The delay in setting up the bench has put litigants, CAs, company secretaries and lawyers to severe hardship owing to inaccessibility of NCLAT at New Delhi during this pandemic period, the petitioner said. The petition will be taken up for hearing this week.