Staff Strike Disrupts Proceedings At NCLT Mumbai

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)'s Mumbai bench faced an administrative crisis on Tuesday when 156 contractual and outsourced staff went on strike over unpaid salaries.

“The proceedings have been impacted by the strike. Around 86 workers, mostly clerical, are on strike. We hope the issue is resolved soon, but until then, proceedings will be affected, although not entirely,” said a deputy registrar, confirming the strike to Mint.

A 9 January letter by the All Contractual and Outsourced Staff, addressed to the Registrar and seen by Mint, highlighted the staff's grievances over routine salary delays.

“The entire staff of the NCLT Mumbai bench is facing extreme hardship due to not receiving our salaries on time. This issue has been verbally acknowledged by your office and the Hon'ble members, yet it remains unresolved. The response regarding the scarcity of funds has been ongoing since the beginning of this fiscal year, with no permanent solution,” the letter said.

The letter also criticized the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) for disregarding the needs of outsourced and contractual employees.“The MCA has lent a deaf ear to the basic necessities of outsourced and contractual employees, compelling them to face hardships. For the past three months, it has become routine that salaries aren't cleared on time due to a lack of funds,” the letter read.

“We have not received our salaries for December 2024, and every time we approach your office, we are told the MCA has not released the funds. This has caused immense hardship-landlords are threatening eviction, EMIs are overdue, recovery agents are chasing us, and penalties are piling up. We can't pay for our children's school fees, buy groceries, or afford medical care for our parents,” the letter added.

Reportedly, 156 employees are participating in the strike, of which 86 are on a contract, while the rest are outsourced.

Lawyers also confirmed to Mint that Tuesday's strike severely disrupted NCLT proceedings.“NCLT proceedings were disrupted on Tuesday, as staff, including stenographers, were unavailable to record orders, forcing judges to give adjournments. The issue must be resolved immediately, or it will halt NCLT operations for more days to come, and litigants will suffer the most,” said Ashish Pyasi, founder of Aendri Legal.

The NCLT Mumbai bench handles some of the country's most high-profile corporate cases.

Rishabh Jain, an associate at Pioneer Legal, said the NCLT Mumbai courtrooms were sans the usual bustling.“If the strike prolongs, it would hinder the prompt disposal of cases and may also increase the pendency of matters in the NCLT. The advocates and litigants are likely to face practical difficulties like delay in filings, getting certified copies of the orders, etc.”

In December, too, the NCLT Mumbai faced disruptions after a cyberattack on the WebEx online hearing system. This forced a temporary halt to online hearings, though they have since resumed.

The NCLT, a quasi-judicial body under the MCA, has 11 benches across India. One principal bench is in New Delhi and 10 other benches are in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.

This is the first incident of a staff strike impacting the NCLT's work. To be sure, the NCLT is grappling with significant understaffing, with nearly a third of the posts, including that of the president, remaining vacant. Of the 63 sanctioned positions, 19 are unfilled, and 11 more will retire in September 2024.

According to media reports, only 13 of the 30 NCLT courts are functioning full-time, while 12 operate for half a day due to member unavailability. The situation has become so dire that courts in Cuttack and Guwahati are now sitting only twice a week for half a day. Similarly, courts in Jaipur and Indore are holding hearings for three half days a week.

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