The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of provisions in the Companies Act of 2013 relating to setting up of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
A five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, concluded hearing on the Act, which gives power to the Centre to suspend and sack members and Chairpersons of NCLT and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
The bench, also comprising Justices A. K. Sikri, Arun Mishra, R. F. Nariman and Amitava Roy, heard several pleas including the one filed by the Madras Bar Association challenging certain provisions of Chapter XXVII of the Act.
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Senior advocate Arvind Dattar led the arguments against NCLT and NCLAT by referring to the recent verdict of a five-judge bench which had declared the National Tax Tribunal, set up to decide tax-related cases, as unconstitutional on the ground that the Act encroached on the ‘exclusive domain’ of superior courts.
The previous UPA government had proposed setting up of NCLT and NCLAT as specialized quasi-judicial bodies with the aim to help reduce the pendency of cases.
Mr. Dattar submitted that the Act is such that civil servants would be an overwhelming presence in the tribunal.
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“In a galloping manner, one Tribunal after another is coming up. Judges are going out of Tribunals. Bureaucrats are going to discharge the function of High Court judges,” he said.
Additional Solicitor General P. S. Patwalia tried to dispel the apprehension by saying that the matter was not an adversarial litigation.