The Delhi High Court on Thursday constituted a committee headed by its Registrar General to deal with the problems faced by lawyers and litigants in entering the building housing National Company Law Tribunal(NCLT) and National Company Law Appellate Tribuna(NCLAT).
Besides the high court registrar general, the committee will comprise two members each nominated by the Bar associations of NCLT and NCLAT, one nominee each from the ministries of Corporate Affairs, Home Affairs and Urban Development and the CISF. The registrar generals of the two tribunals will also be part of the panel.
A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao asked the panel to deliberate on the issues of entry in CGO Complex where the two tribunals are situated, vehicle parking, identity card and space.
The bench was hearing the pleas by NCLT and NCLAT bar associations raising the issues of their entry inside the building and parking of cars inside the CGO Complex.
The lawyers said they along with litigants have to struggle daily to get an entry into the premises.
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The bench also asked the panel to discuss on the possibility of shifting the two tribunals to another location to solve the the problems, including space.
The committee has been asked to file a report before the court in four weeks.
Regarding an interim measure, the court asked the panel to examine the issue of identity cards and entry of lawyers' cars in CGO complex and file an interim report in two weeks.
Senior advocate A S Chandiok, representing NCLT Bar Association, highlighted the deficient facilities in the tribunals including insufficient space and inconvenience in accessing the court rooms.
He said it was difficult for the parties to access the tribunals and by the time, they manage to enter the court rooms, the matter gets over.
As of now, to secure an entry in the tribunals' building, lawyers and litigants are required to get a daily pass issued from one of the counters there.
Central government standing counsel Bharathi Raju submitted that the government was considering allocating an additional space of 10,000 square ft to the NCLAT by relocating the Special Fraud Investigation Office which is situated in the same building.
She said the issue of entry of vehicles and persons inside the CGO complex was a matter of security as it houses several sensitive government departments.
She said lawyers can get easy entry inside NCLAT by applying for an identity card issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and it would be valid for a year.
The CISF also expressed reservations on grounds of security.
The Ministry of Home Affairs controls the entry of vehicles and persons inside the CGO complex.
The high court had earlier directed the Centre's counsel to filed a status report regarding the action they proposed to take and address the issues indicated by the registrars of the tribunals in their status reports.
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