Justice AIS Cheema to remain NCLAT chairperson till Sept 20

The Centre on Thursday agreed before the Supreme Court to reinstate Justice Ashok Iqbal Singh Cheema as acting chairperson of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) till September 20 and send the incumbent head on leave.

The development comes moments after a three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice N V Ramana expressed anguish on abrupt curtailment of Justice Cheema's tenure before the due date of retirement since he completed four years as NCLAT member. The court said it would suo motu stay the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021, forcing the government to concede and allow Cheema to rejoin the post.

Hearing a writ petition filed by Cheema, the bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, expressed serious displeasure over the hasty decision to replace him with Justice M Venugopal, just 10 days before his retirement.

Initially, Attorney General K K Venugopal, representing the Centre, submitted that he was prepared to argue the Centre’s stand on the matter as the decision was taken as per the newly enacted Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021.

He said Justice Cheema, who was sent off pre-maturely, can continue as NCLT acting chairman till September 20 but only on paper since the government has appointed another person as acting chairman.

However, the impasse did not last long. As the matter was adjourned for 30 minutes for the A-G to take instructions, the government blinked. However, the A-G clarified that Justice Cheema’s reinstatement should not be treated as a precedent.

“I have taken instructions. It was said he (Cheema) took leave to write judgments. So, we have decided that he will be allowed to go to office and pronounce (pending) judgments,” Venugopal said.

Current chairperson Justice Venugopal will be sent on leave, he added.

Appreciating A-G’s efforts in breaking the deadlock, the bench said, “The Attorney General solved the problem. We thank you for this".

At the outset, Venugopal submitted that Justice Cheema would be “treated” as acting chairperson till September 20 only on paper and he will be paid his service benefits.

However, the bench pointed out there were five judgments reserved by Justice Cheema and he should be allowed to pronounce these judgments.

To this, A-G said that it would be “very awkward” for the government to remove Justice Venugopal now.

The bench then said the way this order (premature retirement of Justice Cheema) was passed was awkward.

Finally, the bench passed the order, stating the current chairperson will be on leave till September 20. It also added that this order was passed keeping in mind the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case.

Justice Cheema questioned his sudden removal from office as NCLAT acting chairperson on September 10. Senior advocate Arvind Datar, representing Justice Cheema, said it was not proper to treat a former Bombay High Court judge, who had been part of the legal profession for 40 years in this manner.

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