The Tribunal Constituted

In one line

The National Company Law Tribunal is a President and such Judicial and Technical Members as the Central Government thinks necessary, appointed on qualifications that mirror the Supreme Court's directions, selected by a committee chaired by the Chief Justice of India or his nominee, holding office for five years to a fixed retiring age, removable only for stated grounds and, for misbehaviour or incapacity, only after an inquiry by a Supreme Court judge.

In exam wording: under section 408 the Central Government shall, by notification, constitute, with effect from such date as may be specified, a Tribunal to be known as the National Company Law Tribunal, consisting of a President and such number of Judicial and Technical Members as the Central Government may deem necessary, appointed by it by notification, to exercise the powers and functions conferred by or under this Act or any other law for the time being in force.

Why the law has this at all

A tribunal that takes over a High Court's work must be built to a specification, and the specification is not a matter of administrative convenience. Union of India v. R. Gandhi, worked in [From the Company Law Board to the Tribunal], held that the transfer is constitutional only if the substitute forum is as nearly as possible equivalent to the court it replaces in the independence, stature and competence of its members. Sections 407 to 418 are that specification written into the statute.

Read them as answering five questions in order, and the chapter organises itself.

Who sits? Sections 408 to 411, the constitution of both bodies and the qualifications for each office.

Who chooses? Section 412, the Selection Committee and the consultation with the Chief Justice of India.

For how long, and on what terms? Sections 413 and 414, term, retiring age and the guarantee against variation of service conditions to a member's disadvantage.

What if a member goes? Sections 415 and 416, the acting President and resignation.

And how can a member be removed? Section 417, which is the heart of the independence guarantee.

The last is the one to notice. A judge of a High Court can be removed only by the constitutional process of address to Parliament. A tribunal member cannot be given that protection, but s.417 comes as close as a statute can: defined grounds, a hearing, and for the serious grounds an inquiry by a Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the Chief Justice of India.

Sections 407 and 408: definitions and constitution

407: the vocabulary. In the Chapter, "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal; "President" means the President of the Tribunal; "Judicial Member" means a member of the Tribunal or the Appellate Tribunal appointed as such and includes the President or the Chairperson; "Technical Member" means a member appointed as such; and "Member" means a member, whether Judicial or Technical, of either body, and includes the President or the Chairperson.