Top court expunges remarks against 3 NCLAT members

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 19

The Supreme Court today expunged remarks made against three sitting members of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) by a five-judge Bench headed by acting chairperson Justice Bansi Lal Bhat.

“We have gone through the case. We will straightway expunge. Observations made against members of the tribunal stands expunged from the record,” a Bench headed by Justice Rohinton F Nariman said at the very outset.

NCLAT members Justice (retd) JK Jain, Bavinder Singh and Vijay Pratap Singh had on September 25 last year referred a case relating to entry of book of accounts and acknowledgement of debt by a company to a five-member Bench headed by NCLAT acting chairperson Justice Bhat.

Later, the five-member Bench had remarked that the referral judgment adopted “cut paste methodology” and embarked on a “painful misadventure” to refer the matter to the five-member Bench.

Taking exception to these remarks made in the five-member Bench, the three NCLAT members — Justice (Retd) JK Jain, Bavinder Singh and Vijay Pratap Singh — had moved the top court.

“We are with you,” the top court told the petitioners while expunging the impugned remarks.

RBI to frame locker rules

Holding that banks cannot wash off their hands towards their customers for the operation of lockers, the SC on Friday directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to lay down regulations within six months mandating the steps to be taken by banks with respect to locker facility management.

SC junks PIL against MP ‘love jihad’ law

New Delhi: The SC has refused to entertain a PIL challenging an MP ordinance regulating conversions due to inter-faith marriages. “Approach the MP High Court. We would like to have the views of the high court. We have sent similar matters back to the high court,” a Bench led by CJI SA Bobde told petitioner Vishal Thakre, an advocate. tns