The Centre has extended till March 31 the term of Justice (retd) Bansi Lal Bhat as the officiating Chairperson of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
This is the latest in series of extensions that the government has given to Bhat —who is Member (Judicial)—since his appointment as officiating chairman last year. His term as the officiating Chairman was last extended till December 31, 2020.
It may be recalled that Justice Bansi Lal Bhat was appointed Acting Chairperson after the first Chairperson of NCLAT, Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya demitted office upon completion of his term in March last year.
Bhat was appointed for a period of three months with effect from March 15. However, his term was extended from time to time. Earlier, the government had extended his term till October 16, 2020 and then to December 31,2020.
The Delhi High Court had in June last year issued a notice to the MCA and the Registrar of NCLAT in a plea challenging the appointment of Justice (Retd) Bansi Lal Bhat as the officiating Chairman of NCLAT. BL Bhat had become a Judicial member of NCLAT in October 2017.