Gujarat High Court issued a notice to the Central Government on a PIL petition for establishing a bench of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in Ahmedabad.

A division bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shastri issued a notice in the case for further hearing on February 1, 2022.

The plea filed by Ahmedabad National Company Law Practitioners Association mentions problems faced by litigants who have to travel from Gujarat to various places from Delhi to Chennai for filing appeals against orders passed by National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

The petition placed reliance on the Supreme Court’s decision in Swiss Ribbons Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. vs. Union of India. in which the top court had directed the establishment of regional benches of NCLAT.

The PIL also argues that the right to access to justice is a fundamental right under the Indian Constitution.

“..Circuit Benches will be established as soon as it is practicable. In this view of the matter, we record this submission and direct the Union of India to set up Circuit Benches of the NCLAT within 6 months from today,” the Apex Court had ordered in 2019.