Mumbai: Amid an alleged funding crisis from the Central govt for salaries, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai, on Tuesday faced a staff crunch as many of its support staff staged a protest by going off work. They claimed delay in payment of December 2024 salary, irregular payments for six months and a lack of review since the inception of the tribunal in 2016. The protest disrupted the normal functioning of the tribunal’s proceedings, said lawyers who were present. The judicial and technical members of the bench presided and heard urgent matters but could not conduct substantial hearings, said lawyers Shyam Kapadia and Kedar Wagle. Many matters had to be adjourned, others added.
The striking staff reportedly issued a ‘memorandum’ to state that they were refraining from performing professional obligations “till all their grievances are addressed timely met through appropriate channels”. Their grievances included “non-payment of salaries to contractual and outsourced staff” for December 2024 and also delayed salaries in NCLT Mumbai for “six months”.
The NCLT is a tribunal under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, crucial for insolvency and bankruptcy matters. However, sources said it is grappling with a severe shortage of funds. This financial strain has raised concerns about the tribunal’s ability to function effectively, leading to delays in salary payments for its outsourcing and contractual staff, as well as outstanding payments to vendors.
Lawyers said that there are 140 employees and over 7,000 cases that the Mumbai tribunal has pending. The cases may have disputes worth over Rs 70,000 crore, said a source.
The NCLT Mumbai, sourced from the tribunal said in 2021 disposed of 963 cases involving amounts worth Rs 29,280 crore. In 2022, 1,306 cases were disposed of, with amounts involved Rs 32,948 crore. In 2023, 2,114 cases were disposed of with amounts to the tune of Rs 85,776 crore, and in 2024, it was 1,009 cases that were disposed of for amounts worth Rs 1,97,818 crore, said a source.
The striking staff reportedly issued a ‘memorandum’ to state that they were refraining from performing professional obligations “till all their grievances are addressed timely met through appropriate channels”. Their grievances included “non-payment of salaries to contractual and outsourced staff” for December 2024 and also delayed salaries in NCLT Mumbai for “six months”.
The NCLT is a tribunal under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, crucial for insolvency and bankruptcy matters. However, sources said it is grappling with a severe shortage of funds. This financial strain has raised concerns about the tribunal’s ability to function effectively, leading to delays in salary payments for its outsourcing and contractual staff, as well as outstanding payments to vendors.
Lawyers said that there are 140 employees and over 7,000 cases that the Mumbai tribunal has pending. The cases may have disputes worth over Rs 70,000 crore, said a source.
The NCLT Mumbai, sourced from the tribunal said in 2021 disposed of 963 cases involving amounts worth Rs 29,280 crore. In 2022, 1,306 cases were disposed of, with amounts involved Rs 32,948 crore. In 2023, 2,114 cases were disposed of with amounts to the tune of Rs 85,776 crore, and in 2024, it was 1,009 cases that were disposed of for amounts worth Rs 1,97,818 crore, said a source.
