Statutory right of appeal must be express: original adjudicating authority cannot challenge reversal of its own order

Under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973, only the Central Government was treated as the aggrieved party entitled to file an appeal to the High Court. The Director of Enforcement, as the original quasi-judicial adjudicating authority, had no implied right to challenge reversal of his own order because such appellate authority must be expressly conferred by statute. In the absence of any indication that the Government of India had filed the appeal or was mistakenly shown as appellant, the appeal in the Director's name was incompetent and not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether the Director of Enforcement had locus standi and statutory authority to maintain an appeal against the order of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Appellate Board, and whether the appeal could be maintained in his name instead of the Government of India.

Analysis: The Explanation to Section 54 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 treated only the Central Government as the aggrieved party entitled to appeal to the High Court. The Director of Enforcement, having acted as the initial quasi-judicial adjudicating authority, could not claim to be aggrieved merely because the appellate board reversed his adjudication. The record also did not show that the Government of India had filed the appeal or had been shown as appellant by mistake. The power to challenge an appellate order by the original authority must be conferred expressly by statute, and in the absence of such authorisation the appeal was incompetent.

Conclusion: The appeal filed by the Director of Enforcement was not maintainable.

Final Conclusion: The challenge to the appellate board's order failed at the threshold for want of maintainability, leaving the respondents successful and preserving liberty to the Government of India to take appropriate steps if advised.

Ratio Decidendi: Only the person expressly treated by the statute as aggrieved can appeal, and an original quasi-judicial adjudicating authority has no implied right to appeal against reversal of its own order unless the statute specifically authorises such an appeal.

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