TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2017 (8) TMI 1016
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....tion suffers from want of proper pleadings, in particular the prayer. 2. Upon perusal of paragraph 10, it could not be said to be containing prayer. Not only vague expressions were made, it was requested to award relief prayed for in some other writ petition which was Special Civil Application No.1472 of 2003. It was submitted by learned advocate for the petitioner that in the present petition the very prayers prayed for in the said Special Civil Application of 2003 have been asked for. As this petition was devoid of proper prayer, virtually with no prayer, the same could have been dismissed on the said ground alone. Resisting to deprecate the state of affairs, since the party-inperson had originally appeared, it was leniently looked at. 2.1 Learned advocate for the petitioner simultaneously submitted that the party-in-person had filed Civil Application No.11929 of 2011 with certain prayers which included the following two prayers, further praying to grant the same. "(v) to direct RBI, Respondent 2, to provide signed or certified copy, of the affidavit (dated 28-9-2011) made by Mr.K.Neethi Ragavan, Deputy General Manager, RBI, and filed in the H'ble High Court on....
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.... other appropriate writ, direction or order to reply the amount deposited by the petitioner in FCNR Accounts with the State Bank of India from the year 1979 onwards at the rate of reconversion prevailing on the original date of deposit from the date of deposit; (B) To direct the respondents namely Reserve Bank of India and State Bank of India to reconvert the amount of principal and interest thereon dealing to the petitioners at the exchange rate of Rs. 13.07 per US$ that was adopted on the date of conversion i.e. on 7.4.1998 as the notional rate of exchange and to make it transferable outside India; (C) To direct respondent No.2 Reserve Bank of India, in case of NRE Rupee deposit with other Banks as per the Ann.'A' dt.22.4.1988. (i) To pay the difference amounts resulting from the proportional adjustments to the exchange rates that existed on the dates of remittances and the date of releases. (ii) to pay interest thereon at 24% p.a. Compounded quarterly till the dates of repayment and; (iii) to make all these amounts transferable outside India at the current exchange rates. (D) To Award such amount of interest on the af....
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....ioned, noticing therefrom the main conditions. "3. All other debits and credits will require prior approval of Reserve Bank of India; 4. Balance in excess of the minimum amount required to keep the account running, should be repatriated to India and a local bank certificate produced to us in support of; 5. The joint account holder should not operate on the account without our prior approval whenever he/she goes abroad for any purpose's." 3.5 The petitioners replied on 23rd October, 1988. The Reserve Bank allowed the petitioners to continue to foreign currency account as per communication dated 30th March, 1989 on the same conditions mentioned in its previous communication dated 30th September, 1988. The petitioners were required as a condition, to re-designate the NRI Account into Resident Account. However, the petitioners by letter dated 27th July, 1989 sought for continuance of NRE/FCNR Account in the same status without converting them to Resident Account, and further claimed exemption from the Exchange Control Regulations. The Reserve Bank of India repeated and reminded the conditions, asking the petitioners by letter dated 14th September, 1989....
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.... other authorities in 2003. The petitioner filed Special Civil Application No.1472 of 2003. This Special Civil Application came to be disposed of on 18th October, 2004, the order reads as under. "Mr.R C Jani learned advocate for the petitioners seeks permission to withdraw the petition with a view to make a representation before the Reserve Bank of India. Permission as prayed for is granted. The petition stands disposed of as withdrawn. Notice is discharged with no order as to costs." 3.8 The petition with the similar prayer was withdrawn as above. The petitioner made a representation before the Reserve Bank of India. The representation came to be decided on 26th February, 2005. The Reserve Bank of India noticed relevant aspects and decide as under which was communicated to the petitioner. ". Shri N.L. Dubasia and his family members had arrived in India on 1st February, 1988 after many years of service in Ghana and had declared their foreign currency assets and bank accounts in India to us. * While we had granted permission to maintain the foreign currency accounts abroad upto 31st December 1988, they were advised to redesignate all their NRE/FCNR accounts main....
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..... Dubasia were advised accordingly vide our letter dated 8th December 1997. State Bank of India was advised vide our letter dated 8th December 1997 to convert the FCNR accounts to resident accounts with effect from 1st February 1988 at the exchange rate prevalent on the date and surrender the interest claimed from Reserve Bank of India from 1st February 1988 and redesignate the rupee accounts as NRO accounts from the date on which the account holders again became NIRs. * State Bank of India vide their letter dated 3rd September 1998 advised us having complied with our instructions to convert NRE/FCNR into rupee account and an amount of Rs. 6,62,371 was paid as interest, net of taxes to Shri Dubasia from February 1988. In this Connection, it may be noted that the parties were residing in India from 1st February 1988 to 09th June 1994 before becoming non-residents again. Further despite our repeated advices to redesignate the nonresident accounts as early as 30th September 1988, the applicants have not complied with our instructions. In the circumstances, we have not acceded to his request for conversion of the FCNR accounts at the present exchange rate and....
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....about decision with which he was dissatisfied, he sat tight for long 10 years. In the year 2002, he approached the Supreme Court and thereafter again filed petition before this Court. The petitioner is not entitled to relief on the ground that he whiled away the time without any excuse. Delay and latches actuated in indolence on part of the petitioner are the grounds alone on the basis of which this petition is dismissed. Learned advocate for the Reserve Bank of India could successfully rely on decision of the Supreme Court in C. Jacob v. Director of Geology [(2008) 10 SCC 115] and Yunus (Baboobhai) A. Hamid v. State of Maharashtra [(2009) 3 SCC 281] on this aspect. 5.2 Furthermore, as the Special Civil Application No.1472 of 2003 was filed on the basis of same cause of action which was withdrawn by the petitioner with a view to make representation as per the order referred to above, prayers in this petition could be said to be barred by principles of res judicata and the principles analogous thereto. Though the petitioner made representation, it is the same set of facts on the basis of which the cause of action arises. The Apex Court in State of Tamil Nadu v. Amala Annai Higher....
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....ss or vocation outside India, or (c) for any other purpose, in such circumstances as would indicate his intention to stay outside India for an uncertain period; (ii) a citizen of India, who having ceased by virtue of paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of sub- clause (I) to be resident in India, returns to, or stays in, India, in either case - (a) for or on taking up employment in India, or (b) for carrying on in India a business or vocation in India, or (c) for any other purpose, in such circumstances as would indicate his intention to stay in India for an uncertain period; (iii) a person, not being a citizen of India, who has come to, or stays in, India, in either case - (a) for or on taking up employment in India, or (b) for carrying on in India a business or vocation in India, or (c) for staying with his or her spouse, such spouse being a person resident in India, or (d) for any other purposes, in such circumstances as would indicate his intention to stay in India for an uncertain period; (iv) a citizen of India, who, not having stayed in India at any time after the 25....
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....ontrol Manual which grants exemption for a period of 5 years or more in case of exploratory purposes the petitioner have never approached RBI seeking permission for continuance of NRE/FCNR a/cs for exploration purpose. Letter purported to be written by the petitioner in April, 1988 at page 97 is denied by RBI at page 162. (e) The petitioners had not only failed to comply with the instruments of RBI but have also renewed their NRE/FCNR accounts and therefore, the matter was referred to the Enforcement Directorate on 30.11.1994. In the meantime, all the authorized dealers except SBI had controverted the petitioners' NRE/FCNR Accounts to residential accounts. (f) Petitioner No.1 vide its letter dated 14.10.1997 sought the intervention of the High Commission of India, Nairobi for getting funds repatriated and the matter was examined by RBI and it was decided that since the petitioners did not opt for RIFEE Facility despite the repeated advice of RBI, the petitioners' request for repatriation of their funds cannot be acceded to by RBI." 6.2 When learned advocate for the Reserve Bank of India relied on the provision of Section 78of the Foreign Exchange Regula....