Staff crunch, infrastructure hit NCLT operations, must be addressed: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India expressed serious concern about staff shortages and inadequate infrastructure at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), observi...

What Happened

The Supreme Court of India expressed serious concern about staff shortages and inadequate infrastructure at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), observing that these deficiencies are hampering the timely resolution of cases under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2016.
The court sought a status report on over 380 IBC resolution plans awaiting NCLT clearance and flagged a near-two-year lag in NCLT approvals.
Nearly 24 of the 30 NCLT courts have been operating on half-day schedules, severely constraining case throughput.
Pending cases before NCLT benches nationwide reached approximately 30,600 as of early 2026 (Economic Survey data).
The average time taken to complete the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) has grown to approximately 853 days — far exceeding the IBC's statutory deadline of 330 days.

Static Topic Bridges

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT): Establishment and Jurisdiction

The NCLT is a quasi-judicial body established under Section 408 of the Companies Act, 2013. It became operational on June 1, 2016, replacing the Company Law Board (CLB), the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), and the Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (AAIFR). Its creation was based on recommendations of the Justice Eradi Committee.

Section 408, Companies Act, 2013: Statutory basis for the NCLT's constitution.
Replaced: Company Law Board (CLB), BIFR, and AAIFR — consolidating corporate dispute adjudication in a single forum.
Composition of a bench: A Judicial Member (serving/retired High Court judge) and a Technical Member (Indian Corporate Law Service cadre).
Principal Bench: New Delhi; additional benches across the country at Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Cuttack, Jaipur, Kochi, Amravati, and Indore — totalling 16 benches.
Appeals from NCLT go to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), and from there to the Supreme Court on questions of law.
Exclusive jurisdiction: Sections 63, 231, and 238 of the IBC bar civil courts from jurisdiction over matters within the NCLT's competence.

Connection to this news: NCLT is the sole adjudicating authority for corporate insolvency under IBC. Staff shortages and half-day functioning directly translate into delayed CIRP outcomes — the precise bottleneck the Supreme Court flagged.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016: Architecture and Timeline Provisions

The IBC, 2016 is a landmark legislation that created a unified, time-bound insolvency resolution framework for companies, limited liability partnerships, and individuals. It replaced a fragmented ecosystem of laws including SICA, SARFAESI provisions, and winding-up under the Companies Act.

Enacted: May 28, 2016; came into force: December 1, 2016 (for companies).
Adjudicating Authority (for corporates): NCLT.
Insolvency Resolution Professional (IRP)/Resolution Professional (RP): Manages the debtor as a going concern during the CIRP.
Committee of Creditors (CoC): Composed of financial creditors; approves or rejects resolution plans; must approve a plan by 66% voting share.
Statutory timeline for CIRP: 180 days (extendable by 90 days by the NCLT on application) = maximum 270 days normally; the IBC (Amendment) Act, 2019 imposed a hard 330-day outer limit including litigation time, after which liquidation must be ordered.
Pre-packaged Insolvency Resolution Process (PPIRP): Introduced by IBC Amendment, 2021, for MSMEs; allows debtor-driven pre-packaged deals with creditor approval before formal NCLT admission.
IBBI (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India): The regulator established under IBC; regulates insolvency professionals, insolvency professional agencies, and information utilities.

Connection to this news: The statutory 330-day deadline is being routinely breached — average resolution time has ballooned to 853 days — which directly defeats the IBC's core objective of time-bound resolution and maximising asset value.

The Problem of Judicial Infrastructure: Quasi-Judicial Tribunals in India

The Supreme Court's intervention in NCLT's operational challenges is part of a broader concern about the health of India's tribunal ecosystem. Tribunalisation — transferring adjudicatory functions from courts to specialised tribunals — was meant to decongest the court system, but many tribunals face chronic vacancies and resource constraints.

The Supreme Court in Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (2021) struck down several provisions of the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Act, 2021, holding that executive control over tribunal appointments and tenure undermines judicial independence.
The Finance Act, 2017 had merged multiple tribunals into fewer bodies; the Supreme Court partially struck this down.
Article 323A and 323B of the Constitution (added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976): Provide constitutional basis for administrative and other tribunals.
Key principle from L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997): Decisions of all tribunals are subject to supervisory jurisdiction of High Courts under Article 227; tribunals cannot oust High Court jurisdiction entirely.
NCLT's effectiveness is central to the success of IBC — judicial vacancies in NCLT benches directly correlate with delays in insolvency resolution, reducing recovery rates for creditors.

Connection to this news: The Supreme Court's direction to address NCLT staff and infrastructure issues fits within its broader supervisory and constitutional mandate to ensure that quasi-judicial bodies function effectively — reflecting the tension between executive control over tribunal staffing and the need for institutional independence and capacity.

Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP): Step-by-Step

Understanding the CIRP flow is essential for both Prelims (MCQs on IBC provisions) and Mains (GS3 essays on NPA resolution, economic reforms).

Trigger: Financial creditor, operational creditor, or the corporate debtor itself files an application with the NCLT.
Admission: NCLT must admit or reject within 14 days (financial creditor) or 10 days (operational creditor).
Moratorium (Section 14): On admission, a moratorium is declared — all legal proceedings against the debtor are stayed; assets cannot be transferred or encumbered.
IRP appointment: An Interim Resolution Professional is appointed to manage affairs.
CoC formation and RP appointment: Committee of Creditors constituted; RP takes over from IRP.
Resolution plan: RP invites resolution plans; CoC approves by 66% vote; NCLT confirms.
If no resolution: Liquidation is ordered under Chapter III of IBC.
Recovery rates: IBC has yielded higher creditor recoveries compared to the earlier BIFR regime, though absolute recovery rates remain below global benchmarks.
IBC (Amendment) Act, 2026: Introduced further streamlining provisions for the CIRP process.

Connection to this news: The stage at which NCLT approves a CoC-approved resolution plan — a purely judicial step — is where the 380 pending plans are stuck, demonstrating that the bottleneck is institutional capacity, not the legal framework itself.

Key Facts & Data

NCLT established: June 1, 2016, under Section 408, Companies Act, 2013.
NCLT replaced: Company Law Board (CLB), BIFR, and AAIFR.
Justice Eradi Committee: Recommended creation of NCLT.
IBC enacted: May 28, 2016; operational for companies from December 1, 2016.
CIRP statutory timeline: 330 days (including litigation period); actual average as of 2025 = ~853 days.
Pending NCLT cases (early 2026): ~30,600 (Economic Survey 2025-26).
Pending resolution plans awaiting NCLT clearance: 380+.
NCLT benches: 16 across India; Principal Bench at New Delhi.
CoC approval threshold for resolution plan: 66% voting share.
IBBI (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India): Regulator under IBC.
NCLAT: Appellate body over NCLT decisions; further appeal to Supreme Court on questions of law.
Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (2021): SC on tribunal independence and executive control.
L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997): Tribunals subject to High Court supervisory jurisdiction (Article 227).
Pre-packaged Insolvency (PPIRP): Introduced 2021 for MSMEs via IBC Amendment.