Corporate Restructuring, Valuation and Insolvency · Strike Off and Restoration of Name of the Company and LLP

Restoration of Company Name by NCLT under Section 252

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Section 252 lets the NCLT restore the name of a struck-off company to the register. An aggrieved person can appeal within three years of the Registrar's order under section 248. A company, member, creditor or workman can apply within twenty years of the gazette notice. You solve questions by fixing the route, time limit and ground.

Understand Restoration of Company Name by NCLT under Section 252

When the Registrar strikes off a company under section 248, the company stands dissolved on publication of the notice in the Official Gazette. Dissolution does not always end the matter. The strike off may have been wrong, or someone may still have a stake in the company. Section 252 gives a remedy: restoration of the name to the register by the NCLT.

The section gives you two routes. Know them apart, as exam questions turn on the difference.

Sub-section (1): appeal by any person aggrieved by the Registrar's order notifying the company as dissolved under section 248. The time limit is three years from the date of the Registrar's order. The NCLT restores the name only if it finds that the removal is not justified because none of the grounds on which the order was passed existed.
Sub-section (3): application by the company, or by any member, creditor or workman. The time limit is twenty years from the publication in the Official Gazette of the notice under section 248(5). The NCLT may restore if satisfied that the company was carrying on business or in operation when struck off, or that it is otherwise just to restore the name.

There is also a Registrar-initiated route under the second proviso to sub-section (1). If the Registrar is satisfied that the name was struck off inadvertently or on incorrect information furnished by the company or its directors, he may apply to the NCLT within three years from the date of the order dissolving the company.

Before passing any order under sub-section (1), the NCLT must give the Registrar, the company and all persons concerned a reasonable opportunity to make representations and be heard. Under sub-section (3), the NCLT can also give other directions to place the company and everyone else, as nearly as may be, in the position as if the name had never been struck off.

After the order, the company must file a copy with the Registrar within thirty days from the date of the order. The Registrar then restores the name in the register and issues a fresh certificate of incorporation. Also remember that section 248(7) keeps the liability of directors, officers and members alive after dissolution, so restoration is often sought by creditors who want to recover dues.

Key rules to remember

Appeal by aggrieved person: Section 252(1): appeal to NCLT within 3 years from the date of the Registrar's order under section 248; Restoration only if removal is not justified for absence of any ground on which the Registrar passed the order. Hearing of Registrar, company and persons concerned is mandatory.
Application by company, member, creditor or workman: Section 252(3): application within 20 years from publication of the section 248(5) notice in the Official Gazette; Ground: company was carrying on business or in operation when struck off, or it is otherwise just to restore.
Registrar's own application: Second proviso to section 252(1): within 3 years from the date of the order dissolving the company; Available where the strike off was inadvertent or based on incorrect information given by the company or its directors.
Filing the NCLT order: Section 252(2): file the order with the Registrar within 30 days from the date of the order; The Registrar then restores the name and issues a fresh certificate of incorporation.
NCLT's consequential directions: Section 252(3): directions to place company and all persons in the same position, as nearly as may be, as if the name had not been struck off; Applies to orders under sub-section (3).

How to solve Restoration of Company Name by NCLT under Section 252 questions

Use this sequence for any question on restoration of a company's name. It keeps your answer in the provision, analysis, conclusion format.

1Identify the facts: who is applying (company, member, creditor, workman, Registrar or another aggrieved person), the date of the Registrar's order, and the date of gazette notice.
2Choose the route: sub-section (1) appeal, Registrar's proviso application, or sub-section (3) application.
3Check the time limit for that route: three years from the order, or twenty years from the gazette notice under section 248(5).
4Check the ground: for sub-section (1), absence of the grounds on which the order was passed; for sub-section (3), carrying on business or in operation, or just to restore.
5Apply the facts to the ground and note the hearing requirement before the NCLT passes its order.
6State the conclusion and the follow-up: file the order with the Registrar within thirty days, name restored, fresh certificate of incorporation issued.
7Add the practical points: the NCLT may give consequential directions, and director and member liability under section 248(7) continues.

Quickest way: Route, clock, ground, filing

When to use it: Use when you have little time and the question asks whether restoration is possible or whether an application is in time.

Write the route: applicant type decides sub-section (1) or (3).
Write the clock: 3 years from order, or 20 years from gazette notice.
Compare the dates in the facts with the clock and say in time or barred.
Write the ground in one line and match it to the facts.
Close with: file order within 30 days, Registrar restores name, fresh certificate issued.

Common mistakes in Restoration of Company Name by NCLT under Section 252

Applying a single time limit to every applicant.
Students remember only three years or only twenty years.
Fix: Link each period to its route: three years for sub-section (1) appeal and Registrar's application, twenty years for sub-section (3) applications.
Counting the twenty years from the date of the Registrar's order.
The three-year period runs from the order, so students copy the same starting point.
Fix: Under sub-section (3) the period runs from publication in the Official Gazette of the notice under section 248(5).
Saying that only a member or creditor can apply under section 252.
Students ignore the wording of sub-section (1), which covers any person aggrieved.
Fix: Remember that sub-section (1) allows any aggrieved person, sub-section (3) names the company, member, creditor and workman, and the Registrar has his own proviso.
Writing that the NCLT must restore whenever an application is filed.
Students overlook that restoration depends on grounds.
Fix: State the test: under sub-section (1) the removal must be unjustified, and under sub-section (3) the NCLT must be satisfied the company was carrying on business or it is just to restore.
Forgetting the post-order steps.
Answers stop at the NCLT order.
Fix: Add that a copy of the order must be filed with the Registrar within thirty days, after which the name is restored and a fresh certificate of incorporation is issued.
Mixing up section 252 with the producer company appeal under section 378ZP.
Both deal with challenging a strike off.
Fix: Producer company members appeal within sixty days under section 378ZP(3). Section 252 covers companies struck off under section 248.

Worked examples

Example 1

Alpha Traders Private Limited was struck off by the Registrar under section 248 and the Registrar's order notifying dissolution was dated 10 March 2023. Mr. Rao, a creditor owed ₹8,00,000, files an appeal to the NCLT under section 252(1) on 15 June 2027. Advise whether it is within time.

Show the solution

Route: Mr. Rao appeals as a person aggrieved under section 252(1).
Time limit: three years from the date of the Registrar's order.
Three years from 10 March 2023 ended on 10 March 2026.
The appeal on 15 June 2027 is after that date, so it is out of time under sub-section (1).
Alternative: as a creditor, Mr. Rao may apply under section 252(3) within twenty years from the gazette publication of the section 248(5) notice. The gazette notice was published around the order date in March 2023, so the twenty-year period runs to 2043 and is still open.
Under sub-section (3) he must satisfy the NCLT that the company was carrying on business or in operation when struck off, or that restoration is otherwise just.

Answer: The appeal under section 252(1) is barred, but Mr. Rao can apply under section 252(3) as a creditor, within twenty years from the gazette notice, and succeed if he shows the company was carrying on business or restoration is just.

Example 2

Beta Foods Limited was struck off and dissolved. The company and its former directors want the name restored and the NCLT passes a restoration order on 5 August 2027. State what the company must do next and the effect.

Show the solution

The NCLT has ordered restoration under section 252.
Under section 252(2), the company must file a copy of the order with the Registrar within thirty days from the date of the order.
Thirty days from 5 August 2027 ends on 4 September 2027.
On receipt, the Registrar must cause the name of the company to be restored in the register of companies.
The Registrar issues a fresh certificate of incorporation.
If the NCLT order was under sub-section (3), it may also have given directions to place the company and all persons in the same position, as nearly as may be, as if the name had not been struck off.

Answer: The company must file the order with the Registrar by 4 September 2027. The Registrar then restores the name in the register and issues a fresh certificate of incorporation.

Exam tips

Draw a small two-column note in your answer: route, time limit, ground. Examiners reward this clear structure.
In date-based problems, write the start date and the end date of the period before concluding that the application is in time.
Always name the right trigger: Registrar's order for three years, gazette notice under section 248(5) for twenty years.
Mention the hearing of the Registrar, company and persons concerned and the thirty-day filing of the order. These small points add marks.
Link section 252 with section 248(7). Liability of directors and members continues, which explains why creditors seek restoration.

Practice questions from Strike Off and Restoration of Name of the Company and LLP

Restoration of Company Name by NCLT under Section 252: frequently asked questions

What is the time limit for appeal to NCLT for restoration of a company's name?

An aggrieved person must appeal under section 252(1) within three years from the date of the Registrar's order under section 248. A company, member, creditor or workman can apply under section 252(3) within twenty years from the gazette publication of the section 248(5) notice.

Who can apply to the NCLT under section 252?

Any person aggrieved by the Registrar's order may appeal under sub-section (1). The company, a member, a creditor or a workman may apply under sub-section (3). The Registrar can also apply if the strike off was inadvertent or based on incorrect information.

What happens after the NCLT orders restoration?

The company files a copy of the order with the Registrar within thirty days from the date of the order. The Registrar restores the name to the register and issues a fresh certificate of incorporation.

On what grounds will the NCLT restore the name?

Under sub-section (1), it restores if removal is not justified because the grounds on which the Registrar acted were absent. Under sub-section (3), it may restore if the company was carrying on business or in operation when struck off, or if restoration is otherwise just.