SC raps govt, NCLAT chief to be reinstated

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday forced the Union government to reinstate the acting chairperson of the national company law appellate tribunal (NCLAT) for another four days while sending the man currently holding this position on leave till September 20.

In a dramatic turn of events, the government was nudged to issue a fresh appointment letter to justice Ashok Iqbal Singh Cheema, who was sent off hurriedly on September 11 instead of September 20, when he would have reached the retirement age of 67. The SC rejected the Centre’s suggestion that Cheema be retained as NCLAT’S acting chairperson “only on paper”.

At the core of the matter is a legal battle surrounding a recent legislation on appointments to tribunals that overwrites several judgments of the apex court.

Justice M Venugopal, who was appointed the acting chairperson of NCLAT by the government after unseating justice Cheema, will be sent on leave till September 20, and he will come back as the acting chairperson once again on September 21.

A bench, led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, observed that it

Ais the government that is responsible for such an “awkward situation” and that any more insistence on its authority to pass such orders by citing the 2021 Tribunal Reforms Act would compel the court to suo motu (on its own motion) stay the new legislation.

“Your (government’s) officers cannot wake up at seven in the morning and decide to throw out anyone from the tribunal... if the government thinks it can do whatever it likes then we will also have to do something...we will suo motu stay your legislation,” the bench, which also included justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli told attorney general (AG) KK Venugopal.

The court was hearing justice Cheema’s petition in which the retired judge questioned the manner in which he was removed on September 11 by issuing a letter when he was due to retire on September 20.

On Wednesday, too, the top court reproached the Centre while hearing a bunch of cases relating to vacancies across the tribunals and a challenge to the Tribunal Reforms Bill, which was passed by both the Houses in the recent monsoon session of Parliament. Observing that it is “very, very unhappy”, the court said on Wednesday that in a democratic country governed by the rule of law, the Centre can’t assert its authority to reject the names recommended by selection committees, headed by the judges of the SC, for appointments to various tribunals.