In a significant judgment reinforcing judicial discipline and the limits of administrative powers within the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the Gujarat High Court has held that the NCLT President cannot alter or extend the territorial jurisdiction of any NCLT Bench.

Justice Niral R Mehta, delivering the ruling on October 16, quashed the transfer of Essar Steel-related matters (now ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Ltd.) from the Ahmedabad Bench to the Mumbai Bench, calling the transfer “legally unsustainable.”