Justice M Venugopal has been appointed as the Acting Chairperson of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), as the key appellate tribunal continues to be without a permanent head now for more than one-and-a-half years. This is the third time in a row that an Acting Chairperson is at the helm of the NCLAT, which is handling several crucial appeals related to matters under the insolvency and competition laws, after the retirement of Chairperson Justice S J Mukhopadhaya on March 14, 2020.
Justice Bansi Lal Bhat was the first Acting Chairperson from March 15, 2020, followed by Justice A I S Cheema from April 19, 2021, and subsequently Justice M. Venugopal from September 11, 2021.
About the NCLAT:
- The NCLAT was constituted under Section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013 for hearing appeals against the orders of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
- It is also an appellate tribunal for hearing appeals against the orders passed by NCLT under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), and by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).
- It is also the appellate tribunal to hear and dispose of appeals against any direction issued or decision made or order passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
