Maintainability of company petitions must be decided by the Tribunal, not the Registry, at scrutiny stage.

The Registry of the NCLT cannot reject a company petition on maintainability grounds at the scrutiny stage because Rule 17 limits the Registrar to ministerial and administrative scrutiny of filings and defects. A maintainability question, including one involving Section 244 of the Companies Act, is a judicial issue that must be decided by the Tribunal on the judicial side. Where objections go beyond curable defects and raise maintainability, the petition must be numbered and placed before the Bench for determination. The impugned refusal to register the petition was therefore unsustainable, and the matter was remitted for judicial consideration of maintainability.

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Issues: Whether the Registry of the National Company Law Tribunal could reject registration of a company petition on the ground of maintainability at the scrutiny stage under the NCLT Rules, and whether the impugned order refusing registration could be sustained.

Analysis: Rule 17 of the NCLT Rules, 2016 confines the Registrar's role to ministerial and administrative functions such as registration and scrutiny of pleadings, defects, and procedural compliance. A question touching the maintainability of a company petition, especially one requiring consideration under Section 244 of the Companies Act, 2013, is a judicial issue and cannot be finally decided by the Registry. Where objections relate to maintainability rather than mere curable defects, the petition must be numbered and placed before the appropriate bench for judicial determination under Section 241 of the Companies Act, 2013.

Conclusion: The Registry had no competence to reject the petition on maintainability grounds at the scrutiny stage, and the impugned order could not be sustained.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded, the impugned order was set aside, and the matter was sent back for consideration of maintainability by the Tribunal on the judicial side.

Ratio Decidendi: The Registry cannot exercise judicial power to determine maintainability of a company petition at the scrutiny stage; such a question must be decided by the Tribunal on the judicial side.

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