1. Any person aggrieved by an order of the Registrar, notifying a company as dissolved under section 248, may file an appeal to the Tribunal within a period of three years from the date of the order of the Registrar and if the Tribunal is of the opinion that the removal of the name of the company from the register of companies is not justified in view of the absence of any of the grounds on which the order was passed by the Registrar, it may order restoration of the name of the company in the register of companies:
Provided that: before passing any order under this section, the Tribunal shall give a reasonable opportunity of making representations and of being heard to the Registrar, the company and all the persons concerned :
Provided further that: if the Registrar is satisfied, that the name of the company has been struck off from the register of companies either inadvertently or on the basis of incorrect information furnished by the company or its directors, which requires restoration in the register of companies, he may within a period of three years from the date of passing of the order dissolving the company under section 248, file an application before the Tribunal seeking restoration of name of such company.
2. A copy of the order passed by the Tribunal shall be filed by the company with the Registrar within thirty days from the date of the order and on receipt of the order, the Registrar shall cause the name of the company to be restored in the register of companies and shall issue a fresh certificate of incorporation.
3. If a company, or any member or creditor or workman thereof feels aggrieved by the company having its name struck off from the register of companies, the Tribunal on an application made by the company, member, creditor or workman before the expiry of twenty years from the publication in the Official Gazette of the notice under sub-section (5 ) of section 248 may, if satisfied that the company was, at the time of its name being struck off, carrying on business or in operation or otherwise it is just that the name of the company be restored to the register of companies, order the name of the company to be restored to the register of companies, and the Tribunal may, by the order, give such other directions and make such provisions as deemed just for placing the company and all other persons in the same position as nearly as may be as if the name of the company had not been struck off from the register of companies.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 252
Section 252 confers statutory jurisdiction on the National Company Law Tribunal to order the restoration of a struck-off company within 20 years if it was carrying on business or if it is 'just' to do so.
This statutory framework establishes clear operational guidelines, balancing legal compliance with procedural safeguards.
Section 252 is one of the most actively litigated provisions before NCLT benches nationwide. Struck-off companies holding valuable real estate, patents, or pending income-tax refund claims routinely file Section 252 petitions to unfreeze bank accounts and clear title. The NCLT generally adopts a liberal approach toward restoration provided the company demonstrates genuine commercial activity and pays costs to the MCA.