National Company Law Tribunal

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is the adjudicating authority for insolvency resolution and liquidation of corporate persons under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC). Its jurisdiction covers corporate debtors and, in specified circumstances, their personal guarantors.

Statutory basis and coverage

Under Section 60, the competent NCLT bench is generally determined by the location of the corporate debtor's registered office. It exercises jurisdiction over corporate insolvency resolution, liquidation and voluntary liquidation under the IBC.

• Applications to initiate the corporate insolvency resolution process may be filed by financial creditors, operational creditors or corporate applicants under Sections 7, 9 and 10, respectively.
• When insolvency or liquidation proceedings of a corporate debtor are pending before an NCLT, proceedings concerning its personal guarantor must also be brought before that NCLT.
• Insolvency of other individuals and partnership firms ordinarily falls within the jurisdiction of the Debt Recovery Tribunal, subject to the personal-guarantor rule.

Core adjudicatory functions

The NCLT supervises the statutory insolvency process rather than functioning merely as a debt-recovery forum. It determines applications and passes orders necessary for resolution or liquidation.

• On admitting a valid insolvency application, it declares a moratorium, orders a public announcement and appoints an interim resolution professional.
• It approves a resolution plan under Section 31 when statutory requirements are satisfied, making the plan binding on the specified stakeholders.
• It may order liquidation under Section 33, decide avoidance-transaction applications and pass dissolution orders.
• It decides claims, applications and questions of law or fact arising from or relating to the insolvency resolution or liquidation proceedings.

Appellate structure

Orders of the NCLT may be appealed to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal under Section 61. A further appeal lies to the Supreme Court under Section 62, but only on a question of law.