5-Year Interim Order Activity Trend (2021–2025)
India’s insolvency and corporate dispute ecosystem runs heavily through the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). For founders, lenders, investors, and legal teams, NCLT timelines are not just a compliance concern they directly impact recoveries, deal closures, resolution outcomes, and capital recycling.
Over the years, the biggest criticism of NCLT has remained the same: delays and mounting pendency. But has the pace of case disposal improved recently?
To answer this, we analysed 5 years of interim order activity (2021–2025). Instead of looking at filing dates (which may not reflect current progress), this dataset uses the latest interim order date, making it a better indicator of current tribunal activity and case movement.
The goal is simple:
✅ Are cases being disposed faster today?
✅ Or is pendency still dominating the system?
📌 NCLT Interim Order Activity (2021–2025)
| Year | Pending | Disposed | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 18,551 | 9,454 | 28,005 |
| 2024 | 18,547 | 10,453 | 29,000 |
| 2023 | 18,550 | 6,690 | 25,240 |
| 2022 | 18,565 | 11,809 | 30,374 |
| 2021 | 18,546 | 3,741 | 22,287 |
1) The Biggest Insight: Pending is not reducing
Look at Pending numbers across 5 years:
- 2021: 18,546
- 2022: 18,565
- 2023: 18,550
- 2024: 18,547
- 2025: 18,551
Pending stays almost unchanged (~18.5k cases every year).
What this means
Even if more cases are being disposed, the backlog is not coming down.
So, case closures are happening… but the overall pendency problem remains.
2) Disposed cases are higher – but inconsistent
Disposed cases fluctuate heavily:
- 2021: 3,741 (very low)
- 2022: 11,809 (peak year)
- 2023: 6,690 (dip)
- 2024: 10,453 (strong recovery)
- 2025: 9,454 (still strong)
Compared to 2021, disposals have improved significantly
But the improvement is not steady year-on-year
3) Best metric to check speed: Disposal Rate
Disposal Rate = Disposed ÷ Total
| Year | Disposal Rate |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 16.8% |
| 2022 | 38.9% |
| 2023 | 26.5% |
| 2024 | 36.0% |
| 2025 | 33.8% |
What this shows
Closure efficiency improved sharply vs 2021
But performance swings each year (high–low cycle)
4) 2022 = Best disposal year
2022 stands out because it had:
highest disposed cases (11,809)
highest disposal rate (38.9%)
This indicates NCLT had its highest resolution momentum in this period.
5) 2023 slowdown = less closure momentum
Disposed cases fell sharply:
- 2022 → 11,809
- 2023 → 6,690
This highlights an important reality:
📌 NCLT efficiency depends on yearly throughput
Not all years behave the same.
Final Conclusion
So… Are NCLT cases closing faster?
✅ YES (compared to 2021)
Disposals are now 2–3x higher than 2021 levels.
Is NCLT backlog reducing?
❌ NO
Pending cases remain stuck at ~18,500 every year.
What’s the real story?
NCLT is closing more cases than before,
but not enough to reduce pendency.
So yes NCLT cases are closing faster than before… but the backlog is not shrinking. The system is moving, but not clearing. Want deeper trends, case analytics and market insights? follow PrivateCircle.