1. The President shall be a person who is or has been a Judge of a High Court for five years.
2. A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judicial Member unless he—
a. is, or has been, a judge of a High Court; or
b. is, or has been, a District Judge for at least five years; or
c. has, for at least ten years been an advocate of a court.
Explanation.- —For the purposes of clause (c ), in computing the period during which a person has been an advocate of a court, there shall be included any period during which the person has held judicial office or the office of a member of a tribunal or any post, under the Union or a State, requiring special knowledge of law after he become an advocate.
3. A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Technical Member unless he—
a. has, for at least fifteen years been a member of the Indian Corporate Law Service or Indian Legal Service out of which at least three years shall be in the pay scale of Joint Secretary to the Government of India or equivalent or above in that service; or
b. is, or has been, in practice as a chartered accountant for at least fifteen years; or
c. is, or has been, in practice as a cost accountant for at least fifteen years; or
d. is, or has been, in practice as a company secretary for at least fifteen years; or
e. is a person of proven ability, integrity and standing having special knowledge and experience, of not less than fifteen years, in law, industrial finance, industrial management or administration, industrial reconstruction, investment, accountancy, labour matters, or such other disciplines related to management, conduct of affairs, revival, rehabilitation and winding up of companies; or
f. is, or has been, for at least five years, a presiding officer of a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal constituted under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 409
Section 409 establishes the rigorous eligibility criteria for the appointment of the President, Judicial Members, and Technical Members of the NCLT, ensuring judicial independence and specialized corporate expertise.
Litigants challenging tribunal appointments must scrutinize the appointment gazette notification against Section 409 criteria. If an appointee lacks the mandatory 10-year Bar standing or requisite civil service rank, challenge the appointment by filing a writ of quo warranto before the High Court or Supreme Court.