Under Section 435 of the Companies Act, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has constituted
Special Courts by designating 20 existing Session courts/Additional Sessions Courts as Special
Courts under Section 435 of the Companies Act, 2013 (the Act). These courts are in Jammu and
Kashmir, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan,
Punjab, Haryana, Meghalaya, Manipur,Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore),
Union Territories of Puducherry, Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli, Daman and Diu, NCT of Delhi.
National Company Law and Appellate Tribunal
The constitution of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and National Company Law
Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) was done in 2016. These bodies have been constituted for faster
resolution of corporate disputes and reducing the multiplicity of agencies thereby promoting
‘ease of doing business’ in the country. With the constitution of National Company Law
Tribunal (NCLT), the Company Law Board (CLB) stands dissolved and cases pending with CLB
were transferred to NCLT.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and SICA Repeal Act, 2003 were also put in
place in 2016. With this, the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) and
Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction were dissolved and Benches of
NCLT were designated to exercise the jurisdiction, powers and authority of Adjudicating
Authority conferred by or under part II of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. Central
Government has also notified provision for transfer of proceedings relating to arbitration,
compromise, arrangements and reconstruction to the benches of NCLT. The applications
pending before High Courts on winding up shall continue to be dealt by the respective High
Courts and fresh applications are required to be filed before NCLT. NCLAT has its headquarters
at New Delhi. At present the NCLT has its Benches at 10 locations viz., New Delhi, Ahmedabad,
Allahabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.
The Competition Appellate Tribunal under the provisions of Competition Act was dissolved
in 2017 and merged with NCLAT. The appeal against the orders of Competition Commission of
India is now with NCLAT.
Companies in the Registry
Total number of companies registered in the country by March, 2017, under the Companies
Act, 2013, the Companies Act, 1956 and the previous company Laws, stood at 16,41,333. Of
these, 3,01,778 companies were closed; 802 were lying dormant as per Section 455 of
Companies Act, 2013; 1,38,206 companies have not filed statutory annual filings consecutively
for two years; 5,698 companies are under liquidation; names of 25,264 companies are in the
process of being removed under Section 248 of the Companies Act, 2013; and 282 companies
were in the process of being re-activated. Taking all these factors into account, there were
11,69,303 active companies in March, 2017.
Corporate Social Responsibility
In India, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for companies has been mandated through
legislation through Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. Section 135, Schedule VII of the
Companies Act, 2013, and the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014
came into force from April, 2014. From time to time the Ministry has made amendments to