Justice (retd) Anupinder Singh Grewal, former Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, has been appointed President of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), with the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approving his appointment for a term of five years or till he attains the age of 67 years, whichever is earlier.Ordinarily, a former Chief Justice of a High Court is appointed as NCLT president. This is the first time a former senior judge has been appointed.Born on March 10, 1964, in an agriculturist family from Ludhiana district, Justice Grewal comes from a distinguished background. His father retired as Chief Engineer, Punjab PWD (B&R), while his maternal grandfather was an IAS officer.He completed his schooling from St John’s High School, Chandigarh, followed by ISC from Yadavindra Public School, Patiala, in 1982. He graduated with B.A. (Hons) in History in 1985 and completed his M.A. (History) in 1987 from St Stephen’s College, Delhi. He obtained his LL.B. degree from the University of Delhi in 1992.Justice Grewal began his legal practice at the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1992 and went on to represent the State of Punjab in various capacities. He served as Assistant Advocate General from 1995 to 1997, Deputy Advocate General from 1997, and was later re-designated as Senior Deputy Advocate General in 2002. He continued as such till 2005 before being appointed Additional Advocate General, Punjab.He handled important matters relating to civil, constitutional, criminal, service and land acquisition laws, besides public interest litigation, for over 19 years on behalf of the State.In November 2007, he was appointed Central Government Counsel and later designated as Senior Panel Counsel in 2009 for conducting cases for the Union of India before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He appeared in significant matters, including writ petitions challenging the vires of Central Acts, arbitration cases and service matters.Justice Grewal was also appointed amicus curiae by the High Court in several important cases, including proceedings concerning the validity of judicial orders pronounced without reasons or signatures.He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 25, 2014. Shortly thereafter, he was transferred to the Rajasthan High Court on December 19, 2014, where he was sworn in as a permanent Judge on May 20, 2016. He was later transferred back to the Punjab and Haryana High Court and resumed charge on October 5, 2016.Known in legal circles as a par excellence judge, Justice Grewal was widely regarded as a jurist of integrity with zero tolerance towards corruption, consistently upholding the highest standards of judicial propriety and fairness.Justice Grewal demitted office recently on attaining the age of superannuation.