Pending statutory appeal bars coercive penalty recovery until the appellate forum decides the appeal and pre-deposit application.

Where a statutory appeal under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act was pending together with an application for dispensing with pre-deposit, coercive recovery of the penalty was treated as impermissible until the appellate authority acted on the appeal and connected application. The court directed the appellate authority to dispose of the appeal expeditiously, within twelve weeks, so that the appellant could pursue further remedies after the merits and deposit issue were decided.

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Issues: Whether recovery of the penalty could be pursued while the statutory appeal and the application for dispensing with deposit remained pending, and whether the appellate authority should be directed to decide the appeal expeditiously.

Analysis: The statutory appeal under Section 52 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 had already been filed, along with an application seeking dispensation from deposit of the penalty amount as a condition for entertaining the appeal. Where the liability itself is under challenge and the appellate forum has not acted on the pending application or the appeal, coercive recovery proceedings are not . The proper course is for the appellate authority to dispose of the appeal and the connected application, so that the aggrieved party may pursue further remedies if necessary.

Conclusion: Recovery proceedings against the petitioner were not permitted until the appellate authority disposed of the appeal, and a direction was issued to decide the appeal within twelve weeks.

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