Hon’ble Justice (Retd.) Ramalingam Sudhakar is the President of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Principal Bench, New Delhi, a position he has held since 1 November 2021. In this role he is responsible for overseeing the adjudication of significant corporate law and insolvency matters under the Companies Act, 2013 and the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code.

Justice Sudhakar served as a Constitutional Court judge before joining the NCLT, having been elevated to the Bench as an Additional Judge of the Madras High Court on 10 December 2005 and as a Permanent Judge on 20 April 2007. He later served as a Judge of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court, Acting Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court, and ultimately Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court, taking oath on 18 May 2018 and retiring upon superannuation on 13 February 2021.

He enrolled as an Advocate in 1983 and began his legal practice as an associate of Senior Advocate Habibullah Badsha, former Advocate General of Tamil Nadu. During his practice, he appeared in a wide range of matters across Madras High Court, High Courts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and the Supreme Court of India, with emphasis on areas including Customs, Central Excise, and Sales Tax Law.

Justice Sudhakar was born on 14 February 1959 and hails from Panapakkam Village, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu. He completed his early schooling at Don Bosco Matriculation School, Egmore, Chennai, and St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School, Madurai. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences from Loyola College, Chennai and a Bachelor of Law degree from Madras Law College.

As NCLT President, Justice Sudhakar has presided over the tribunal during a period of considerable insolvency adjudication and has been vocal about strengthening the tribunal’s role in timely and effective resolution of cases under the bankruptcy framework.