Supreme Court Upholds NCLAT Bench Composition with Majority Technical Members

The Supreme Court ruled that a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) bench can lawfully consist of a majority of technical members.

Justices Sanjay Kumar and Vinod Chandran clarified that Section 418A of the Companies Act, 2013, only mandates the presence of at least one judicial member, not a judicial majority.

The Court rejected the minority shareholders' reliance on the Madras Bar Association verdict, noting that the prior ruling applied to the now-repealed 1956 Act.

Consequently, the Court upheld Bharti Telecom’s capital reduction scheme, confirming that a unanimous decision by a bench of one judicial and two technical members is valid.

[Pannalal Bansal v. Bharti Telecom & Ors]