The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the appointment of Bachu Venkat Balaram Das as acting president of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The Centre had appointed Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal, a former high court judge, as the president of the tribunal, rendering the petition infructuous.
The petitioner, Kaushalendra Kumar Singh, had claimed that he was the senior-most member of the tribunal based on the date of joining, and therefore, Das could not have been made acting president. However, the Centre had stated that Das was considered for the additional charge of acting president following the 'convention' of appointing the senior-most judicial member to the post.
The Delhi High Court bench noted that the Centre's appointment of Justice Grewal as NCLT president had rendered the petition infructuous, and closed the proceedings.
