The Union government told the Delhi High Court that appointment of a regular NCLT President remains pending since December 2025. The Centre stated it awaits recommendation from the Chief Justice of India under Companies Act provisions.
NEW DELHI: The Union government informed the Delhi High Court that the appointment of a regular President for the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has been pending since December 2025 because a recommendation from the Chief Justice of India (CJI) is awaited.
The Centre said the Ministry of Corporate Affairs wrote to the CJI in December 2025 seeking a recommendation for the NCLT President under Section 412(1) of the Companies Act, 2013, but no reply has yet been received from the CJI’s office.
It added that without that recommendation, only temporary arrangements can be made to maintain the Tribunal’s functioning.
The government’s affidavit responded to a challenge by senior technical member Kaushalendra Kumar Singh to the appointment of judicial member Bachu Venkat Balaram Das as acting President of the NCLT.
On the constitutional scheme, the Centre explained that the Search-cum-Selection Committee charged with appointing the NCLT President is chaired by the CJI or his nominee and includes senior judicial and government members, underscoring that the process cannot be completed without the CJI’s recommendation.
The NCLT President’s post fell vacant on February 13, 2026, following the retirement of Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar. Judicial Member Deep Chandra Joshi was initially given additional charge as acting President. After Joshi’s tenure ended on March 16, the government issued a notification on March 16 appointing judicial member Bachu Venkat Balaram Das as acting President.
Singh has challenged that appointment in the Delhi High Court. He says he is the NCLT’s senior-most member, having joined on October 1, 2021, while Das joined on October 18, 2021.
Singh’s petition relies on Section 415 of the Companies Act, which provides that the “senior-most member”, whether judicial or technical, should act as President during a vacancy. He contends that bypassing him breaches Article 14 and the statutory scheme.
The Centre replied that after Justice Sudhakar’s retirement on February 13, 2026, additional charge was first given to judicial member Deep Chandra Joshi under Section 415(1). When Joshi’s additional charge ended on March 16 and the CJI’s recommendation was still pending, the government appointed Das as acting President for six months or until a regular President is appointed.
The Centre said that, although some technical members joined earlier, the established practice has been to entrust interim charge to the senior-most judicial member. It observed that the Companies Act and applicable rules do not expressly prescribe a method to determine inter se seniority between judicial and technical members.
Further, the government argued that the NCLT President carries a constitutional requirement of “judicial character” and therefore the role cannot be filled by a technical member. Since the NCLT exercises jurisdiction formerly vested in High Courts, its leader must have qualifications and independence comparable to a High Court judge, the Centre submitted.
Appointing a technical member as head, the affidavit argued, would contravene the separation of powers doctrine and weaken judicial independence, undermining public confidence in the tribunal’s impartiality. The Centre also noted that the Supreme Court has repeatedly warned against placing civil servants in positions that demand a judicial temperament.
Case Title: Kaushalendra Kumar Singh Vs Union of India.
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