MCA set to roll out e-hearings

Soon, corporate lawyers and executives will no longer have to turn up at company registrar offices for case hearings, with the government preparing the ground for virtual hearings on its MCA21 portal.

- Gireesh Chandra Prasad

The ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) is set to roll out e-adjudication on its statutory filing portal by March, two people familiar with the development said, drawing comfort from the record number of return filings this year. Once it is launched, all proceedings by the registrars of companies (RoCs) related to company law breaches and defaults will be conducted entirely online. “That will include online hearings. This will be rolled out before end of this fiscal year," said one of the two people cited above, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.

At present, government officials communicate with authorized company executives via physical letters, while some proactive officials also email scanned copies of these letters for quicker delivery. The new system is expected to fast-track proceedings, since it eliminates the need for travel every time there is a case hearing.