Statutory meaning of "Court" under special securities law included the Company Law Board, triggering transfer of the pending proceeding.

The term "Court" in section 9A of the Special Court legislation was construed in its statutory context to include curial or judicial bodies exercising adjudicatory powers, not only ordinary civil courts. Applying that construction, the Company Law Board, when deciding applications under section 111 of the Companies Act, exercised binding judicial functions concerning title and rectification and acted in a manner analogous to the former civil court jurisdiction under section 155. The proceeding before the Company Law Board was an original adjudicatory proceeding, not a true appellate proceeding, and therefore fell within the transfer scheme under section 9A. The pending section 111 proceeding stood transferred to the Special Court, and the challenge to CLB jurisdiction failed.

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Issues: Whether the Company Law Board is a Court for the purposes of section 9A of the Special Court legislation and whether a pending proceeding under section 111 of the Companies Act, 1956, stood transferred to the Special Court.

Analysis: Section 9A conferred on the Special Court the jurisdiction, powers and authority exercisable by a civil court in relation to matters or claims arising out of specified securities transactions involving a notified person, and it also provided for transfer of pending proceedings before any Court. The expression "Court" was construed in its statutory context and, having regard to the object of the Special Court legislation, was held to cover curial or judicial bodies exercising adjudicatory powers, not merely ordinary courts of civil judicature. The Company Law Board, while dealing with applications under section 111 of the Companies Act, 1956, exercised judicial functions, made binding orders regarding title and rectification, and possessed powers analogous to those earlier exercised by civil courts under section 155. The proceeding before the Company Law Board was an original adjudicatory proceeding and not a true appellate proceeding, and therefore fell within the transfer scheme in section 9A.

Conclusion: The Company Law Board was within the sweep of section 9A, and the pending section 111 proceeding stood transferred to the Special Court; the challenge to CLB jurisdiction failed.

Ratio Decidendi: For the purposes of a special statute conferring exclusive jurisdiction over specified securities disputes, the term "Court" may include a statutory adjudicatory body exercising judicial or curial powers, and a pending original proceeding before such a body is liable to transfer where the statutory conditions are satisfied.

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