The Supreme Court on Friday ordered an inquiry into the working of Bench 2 of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which refused to abide by a direction issued by the Apex Court.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra directed Justice Ashok Bhushan, NCLAT Chairperson, to submit the inquiry report by 5 pm on October 16 and listed the matter for further hearing on October 17.
The matter pertained to a case of September 21, 2023, when a Bench of NCLAT, while reserving the verdict in Company Appeal (AT) No.46 of 2020, directed the parties to maintain Status Quo as was available prior to EOGM dated 03.05.2019 till the judgement is delivered by the Tribunal.
Since the Appeal was admitted and continued without any interim order after dismissal of an application for interim relief to the Appellant vide order dated December 31, 2019, the Apex Court vide its order dated September 26, 2023, vacated the order of NCLAT dated September 21, 2023.
The Appeal was listed in NCLAT for pronouncement of judgement at 2 pm today. However, in the morning half, the matter was also listed in the Apex Court before the Bench headed by the CJI.
The top court of the country recorded in its order that the scrutinizer shall, in compliance with the order of this Court, proceed to declare the result of the Annual General Meeting, which was held on September 29, 2023 forthwith.
The NCLAT shall proceed to declare its judgement in the pending appeal after it was duly apprised of the fact that the result of the Annual General Meeting has been declared.
This fact was brought to the Notice of the NCLAT at 2:05 pm, when it assembled to pronounce the judgement.
However, the members of NCLAT Bench 2 openly proclaimed that if the parties wished to file a contempt case against the members, they were free to do so, but they would pronounce the judgement. The members even refused to take the order of the Apex Court passed this morning on record. The NCLAT Bench pronounced the judgement and allowed the appeal.
This issue was again brought to the Notice of a Bench led by the CJI in the post lunch session, which sought a report from the NCLAT Chairperson.
(Case title: Orbit Electricals Private Limited & Anr vs Deepak Kishan Chhabria and Anr)