Which NCLT Bench Will Hear My Case?

Filing in the wrong NCLT bench costs time, and under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, time is often the one thing a creditor or company cannot spare. The good news is that the basic rule is simple: the bench is decided by the state where the company's registered office is located. Not where it does business, not where the creditor is, and not where the contract was signed.

This guide explains that rule, gives a state-by-state list of the benches, covers the special cases of personal guarantors, LLPs and groups, explains how a case can be moved between benches, and tells you which NCLAT bench hears appeals. Use it to check your bench before you file or respond.

The rules in brief

State-wise NCLT benches

Why the registered office, and the traps

The registered office is the company's official address, recorded with the Registrar of Companies, where notices are served and statutory records kept. Using it gives a single, checkable answer to the question of jurisdiction. But it produces results that surprise people. A company registered in Noida goes to Prayagraj, not New Delhi, though Noida is next to Delhi. A company registered in Gurugram goes to Chandigarh. A company with its factory in Gujarat and its registered office in Mumbai goes to Mumbai. A company whose ROC is in Delhi, as is the case for Haryana companies, still goes to Chandigarh, because the ROC and the NCLT are different.

Companies sometimes shift their registered office. What usually matters is the registered office on the date the application is filed. Tribunals look closely at shifts made shortly before a case, especially where the company appears to be forum shopping, and a shift across states needs approvals that take time. If the registered office was changed recently, check the dates in the MCA filings.

How to find the right bench

Special cases

Personal guarantors. Under Section 60(1) and (2), an insolvency application against a personal guarantor of a company is filed before the NCLT that has jurisdiction over the company. If the company's CIRP or liquidation is already pending, the guarantor's case goes to the same bench. This keeps all proceedings arising from the same loan together.

Group companies. Each company is a separate corporate debtor with its own bench. A group with companies in Delhi, Haryana and Maharashtra may have cases in three benches. Where this causes real difficulty, a party can apply to the Principal Bench in New Delhi under the NCLT Rules to transfer cases so that they are heard together. Transfer is a matter of discretion and needs good reasons.

Company law petitions. Oppression petitions, schemes, capital reduction, restoration and other Companies Act matters also go to the bench for the registered office.

Cross-border matters. For a foreign company merging with an Indian company, the Indian company's registered office decides the bench.

Which NCLAT bench hears appeals

Before you file: jurisdiction checklist

LLPs and other entities

Limited liability partnerships are covered by the IBC and by parts of the Companies Act framework as applied to them. An LLP's insolvency case goes to the NCLT for the state of its registered office, just like a company. Partnership firms and proprietorships are not corporate persons; their partners' or proprietors' personal insolvency is governed by Part III of the Code, which, apart from personal guarantors of companies, has been brought into force only in part. For those, recovery usually runs through civil or commercial courts.

Registrars of Companies for common states

Benches with history

Some benches are newer than others. Before the benches at Jaipur, Indore, Amaravati and Kochi began functioning, cases from those states were heard elsewhere, and some were transferred when the new benches opened. If your case began years ago, check its current status and which bench passed earlier orders. For appeals, what matters is the bench that passed the order under challenge, and since 2020 appeals from the southern benches have gone to NCLAT Chennai rather than New Delhi.

The NCR puzzle

The National Capital Region spans three states and one union territory, and its businesses move across borders every day. A company may have its office in Gurugram, its factory in Noida and its registered office in Delhi. For NCLT purposes, only the registered office matters. That means NCR creditors regularly deal with three benches: New Delhi for Delhi companies, Allahabad for Noida and Ghaziabad companies, and Chandigarh for Gurugram and Faridabad companies. All three send appeals to the NCLAT in New Delhi. Before drafting a demand notice, check the registered office, send the notice there, and file before the bench for that state. A notice sent to a branch office or a factory may also be challenged as defective, so the same check protects both steps.

Personal insolvency of individuals

Apart from personal guarantors of companies, the Code's provisions for insolvency of individuals and partnership firms are being brought into force in stages. Where they apply, applications for individuals go to the Debts Recovery Tribunal, not the NCLT, under Section 60 and Part III. Personal guarantors of company loans are the exception, because the Code routes them to the NCLT dealing with the company, so that the company's case and the guarantor's case are heard together.