File No. 10/03/2021-NCLT
NATIONAL COMPANY LAW TRIBUNAL
6th Floor, Block-3,
CGO Complex, Lodhi Road,
New Delhi- 110003
Dated: 18th December 2021
Standard Operating Procedure for Physical/
Virtual/ Hybrid hearing of cases before the
National Company Law Tribunal
In supersession of earlier notification/ guidelines/ circulars issued by the National Company Law Tribunal regarding functioning of the NCLT during COVID-19 Pandemic period and keeping in view of the present situation and the guidelines of Government of India on COVID-19 restrictions. The Hon’ble President, NCLT is pleased to issue the present Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for physical hearing, as well as the continuation of Virtual. The following SOP is made applicable to all NCLT Benches.
1. All the latest guidelines of the Central and the State Governments regarding gathering at Public places shall be, adhered to in letter and spirit.
2. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at all benches will continue to receive online filing of cases through e-portal of NCLT.
3. The Advocate/ Representative of the parties, who opt to attend the hearing through Video Conference, may send request with the item number to the concerned court officer. Counsel for either side in a matter can opt for either Physical hearing or Virtual hearing. In certain cases, the hybrid form will be allowed by the presiding Member if found justified.
4. While attending/appearing before the NCLT physically, all the stake holders including the learned Advocates, shall follow this SOP scrupulously along with other instructions issued by this Tribunal, the State and Central Governments directions issued from time to time including maintaining physical istance, use of masks, sanitizers etc.
5. The entry into the Tribunal premises only to the Advocates/Parties-in-person concerned, whose names are published in the cause list.
6. Entry of parties or other stakeholders into the NCLT is permitted only if there is direction by the Tribunal to that extent, and subject to authorization given by the concerned Advocate.
7. No one with the symptoms of cough, fever, running nose and people who are immunity compromised and will not be allowed to enter into the NCLT premises.
8. The Advocates/Parties-in-Person/Advocate Clerks or other stakeholders, shall enter into the Security Zone through the main Gate after showing their identity card and subjecting themselves to thermal screening at Security gate for detecting body temperature etc.
9. On entering the Security Zone, the Advocates/ Parties-in- Person would proceed to the designated Bar Room/ vacant Court halls nearer to the concerned Court Halls where physical hearing is to be taken up and wait for their tum to enter the respective Court Halls.
10. At the waiting Hall(s), concerned staff will guide the Advocates/Parties-in-Person, as and when their turn comes for entering the designated Court Hall for physical hearing. They are advised to wear masks and sanitize their hands before entering into the Court Halls.
11. The entry into the Court Hall is only to the Counsel whose cases are listed in that particular Court. However, considering the physical distancing norms the total number of Advocates/Parties-in-person in a case shall not exceed six … ten members. One Advocate per party will be allowed in each matter which is taken up for hearing by the Hon’ble Bench and the other Advocates/Parties-in-person of next two cases in the Cause List will be permitted to remain in the Court Hall, but in all not exceeding ten numbers at a time. This restriction does not apply to Sr. Advocates who are appearing in the matter for either parties.
12. Advocates are requested not to bring either Junior Counsel or Advocate Clerks into the Court Halls. Wherever the services of Senior Advocate are engaged, the briefing Counsel is allowed into the Court Hall along with the Senior Advocate. Advocate Clerks will enter into the Court Hall only to drop the files/books in the Court Hall and leave right away, they will not be permitted to loiter in side the Court Halls. However, the concerned Advocate Clerk who is assisting the Advocate inside the Court Hall may wait in the corridor wherein seating facility is provided.
13. The chairs in the Court Halls and Bar rooms are arranged in such a way that a minimum advised distance is maintained between the chairs.
14. Canteen and Cafeteria in the premises will remain closed for the time being. However, Safe Drinking Water is provided in the Waiting Hall.
15. All the Stakeholders shall leave the NCLT premises as soon as their matter is over.
16. Entry in to the NCLT premises by all the concerned shall be only between 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM on the working days so as to enable the sanitizing teams assigned for the purpose to carry out sanitization/deep cleaning of the premises according to the standard procedures in that behalf.
17. The entire Tribunal premises shall be sanitized/deep cleaned daily between 7.30 AM and 9.30 AM and after 4.30 PM.
18. The Registry shall ensure that instructions issued by the Central, State Governments with regard to COVID-19 strictly adhered to.
19. All the Advocates/stake holders shall adhere to the SOP and are requested to cooperate with the Registry and security personnel posted at the entry points of the Security Zone and Court Rooms entrusted the task of implementing the aforesaid guidelines.
20. Parties are required to ensure that the VC proceedings and neither recorded/stored nor broadcast, in any manner whatsoever, as recording/copying/storing and or broadcasting, by any means, of the hearings and proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal are expressly prohibited.
21. This SOP is subject to review/ modification from time to time.
22. This SOP come in force with immediate effect.
23. This issues with the approval of Hon’ble President, NCLT.
(Shiv Ram Bairwa)
Registrar
Copy to:-
1. P.S. to Hon’ble President, National Company Law Tribunal, New Delhi.
2. Hon’ble Members, National Company Law Tribunal.
3. Secretary, National Company Law Tribunal: With the request to make necessary arrangement.
4. PS to Director, (Sh. Amar Singh Meena) Ministry of Corporate Affairs, New Delhi.
5. JR/DR/AR of National Company Law Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi/Kolkata/Mumbai/Chennai/Ahmedabad/Allahabad/Bengaluru/Chandigarh/Guwahati /Hyderabad/Jaipur/Cuttack/Kochi/Amaravati/ Indore.
6. NCLT web site/ Notice Board.
7. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, ITO, New Delhi.
8. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India, ICSI, House 22, Institutional Area, Lodhi Road, New Delhi — 110003.
9. The Institute of Cost Accountants of India, CMA Bhawan, 3 Institutional Area, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003
10. All Bar Councils.
