NCLAT gets third Acting Chairperson in a row

New Delhi: 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. Last week, the Supreme Court raised concerns, saying the Centre was emasculating tribunals by not appointing officials to the quasi-judicial bodies that are facing staff crunch.

According to the latest update on the website of the NCLAT, Justice Venugopal has been appointed as the Acting Chairperson of the appellate tribunal from September 11, 2021. He is a former judge of the High Court of Madras. He had joined as a Sub-Judge in Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service on June 5, 1997.