Attachment orders bind attached funds until vacated; tribunal cannot direct release or override third-party claims.

Attachment and prohibitory orders issued by civil courts or under the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act bind the person holding the attached money until they are lawfully vacated. A tribunal under the Administrative Tribunals Act cannot sit in judgment over the correctness of such orders, override the claims of attaching creditors, or direct release of gratuity or commuted pension when no order lifting the attachments has been obtained from the competent court or authority. The text states that the tribunal therefore lacked jurisdiction to interfere with the attachment and release the withheld amounts.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction to direct release of gratuity and commuted pension by disregarding attachment and prohibitory orders issued by civil courts and revenue recovery authorities.

Analysis: Attachment and prohibitory orders issued by civil courts or under the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act bind the person holding the money, and non-compliance may entail legal consequences. A tribunal constituted under the Administrative Tribunals Act cannot sit in judgment over the correctness of such judicial or statutory attachment orders. The officer had not obtained any order lifting those attachments from the competent court or authority, and the Tribunal could not, in effect, override the claims of attaching creditors or adjudicate disputes between third-party creditors.

Conclusion: The Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to interfere with the attachment and prohibitory orders or to direct release of the withheld amounts; the impugned order was unsustainable and the writ petition was allowed.

Ratio Decidendi: A tribunal cannot override or adjudicate upon attachment or prohibitory orders issued by competent civil courts or statutory recovery authorities, and the person holding the attached money remains bound by those orders until they are lawfully vacated.

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