That the National Company Law Tribunal has issued a circular dated 25-11-2020 directing the regular operation of all the Benches in India from 1-12-2020.

The reopening has been in a staged manner, where cases will be taken up for online hearing on certain days of the week. The Principal Bench at Delhi will be functioning 5 days a week while the Bench at Jaipur will be functional on Thursday and Friday.

The circular requires the benches to hear all the matters on merit though it doesnot explain the exact order in which the matters will be heard. It appears that the individual benches have been given a free hand in determining the schedule appropriate for the respective Benches.

The cases of COVID infections has been on the rise in India and there has been acceptance of the fact that temporary lockdowns currently operating on the Benches cannot be sustained to an indefinite period. The initiative taken by NCLT is a welcome step and will probably help in clearing the long backlog that had resulted from temporary lockdown

See the order