New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday expressed resentment over the "hurried" appointment of Justice M Venugopal as Acting Chairperson of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana said it would take up the matter on Thursday and asked Attorney General K K Venugopal to take instructions on the issue.
"I am in advance telling you (AG) to appear tomorrow, it's regarding premature retirement of Justice Cheema as NCLAT Chairman. It appears he has been replaced. It says that 10 days before Cheema's retirement as NCLAT chairman, Mr Venugopal was appointed in a hurry. I don't know how this is happening," the bench also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao said.
The Centre on Saturday approved the proposal for appointment of eight Judicial members and 10 Technical members in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
Justice M Venugopal has been appointed as the Acting Chairperson of the NCLAT, as the key appellate tribunal continues to be without a permanent head now for more than one-and-a-half years.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday also asked the Centre to make appointments in two weeks in tribunals, which are facing a severe crunch of presiding officers as well as judicial and technical members, and apprise it of reasons if persons from the recommended list are left out in the process.
The Supreme Court asked the Centre why it made appointments to tribunals "after cherry-picking from the waitlists" instead of appointing recommended persons against the vacancies.
There are around 250 posts lying vacant in various key tribunals and appellate tribunals. The top court was hearing a clutch of petitions on the issue of vacancies in tribunals and the new law governing quasi judicial bodies.
