'Voluminous Appeal Records, Citations Of Very Little Value': NCLAT Chennai Raps Practising Company Secretary For Unnecessarily Burdening The Tribunal

The Appeal was preferred by the concerned Appellant against an order of the National Company Law Tribunal, Chennai Bench, wherein the Tribunal passed an order directing all the Company Petitions relating to a particular company be placed before the Chairperson of the NCLT for the nomination of an appropriate bench, so that all the cases relating to that company may be decided together so as to avoid the possibility of passing of contradictory Judgments, if any.

Noting that the aforesaid order of the NCLT assailed by the Appellant, was merely a 'procedural order' 'with no adjudication of any lis on merits, effecting any right of any of the parties to the proceedings', the Appellate Tribunal deprecated the conduct of the professionals for filing the appeal.

“On this simple count and arguments, itself, the Learned Counsel for the Appellant has burdened the litigant to this appeal with the preparation of 7 volumes of documents running to 1312 pages, for no good purpose or valid reason. It is against basic professional ethics. The conduct of the professionals herein is deprecated for the said mode of institution of the proceedings, particularly when the lis engages consideration of an Impugned Order of a nature which is not deciding or affecting any of the right of the Appellant.”

With aforesaid observations the NCLAT dismissed the Appeal.

Court: National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, Chennai Bench

Case Name: A. Vijayan v. Silver Line Retreat Hotels Private Limited

Case Number: CA(AT)(CH) No. 30 of 2024

Counsel for the Appellant: Mr. K. Gaurav Kumar, PCS

Counsel for the Respondents: Mr. P.H. Arvindh Pandian, Senior Advocate For Mr. Pawan Jhabakh, Mr. Jerin Asher Sojan & Mr. Ujjwal Jain, Advocates, For R2-R3