AI Drafter 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (4) TMI 511
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....tion of questions of law may be stated thus: 4. One Mr. A. Viswanatha Raju filed the above said appeal i.e., FPA-PMLA-221/HYD/2011 under Section 26 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (for short "the PMLA") against the orders passed by the Adjudicating Authority in OC No.38/2009, dated 14.01.2010. The genesis for the complaint was a letter dated 07.01.2009 addressed by Mr. B.Ramalinga Raju to the shareholders of M/s SCSL (Satyam Computer Services Limited) intimating that books of accounts of M/s. SCSL were falsified and the financial figures were inflated and the FIR registered on 09.01.2009 on a complaint by one of the investors against Mr. Ramalinga Raju and other promoters of M/s. SCSL under Section 120B r/w Section 406, 420, 467, 471 and 477 of the Indian Penal Code. The case was subsequently taken over by the CBI. Since the commission of offence under Section 467 of IPC is a scheduled offence under the PMLA, the Enforcement Directorate registered a case by filing ECIR dated 23.01.2009. Based on the charge sheet filed by the CBI dated 07.04.2009 and further investigations, having come to a conclusion that the offences of money laundering within the meaning of Section 3....
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....MLA-221/HYD/2011 was filed raising various factual and legal contentions and during the pendency of the said appeal Mr. Viswanatha Raju died on 23.08.2014. He submits that the appeal was filed in the year 2010 and on receipt of intimation about its hearing in the year 2023 received from the counsel representing Mr. Viswanatha Raju, his daughter filed an application No.MP-PMLA-12749/HYD/2023 (Misc.) to record her as legal representative of the deceased-appellant before the Hon'ble Appellate Tribunal, but the same was dismissed vide Order dated 13.05.2024 and the Tribunal also dismissed the Appeal on the premise that the same is abated. In elaboration, he submits that the Appellate Tribunal rejected the LR application on the ground that the same was filed beyond the normal period of limitation of 90 days as prescribed under Article 120 of the Limitation Act, 1963 read with Order XXII of the Code of Civil Procedure (for short 'C.P.C.'), and such an application beyond the reasonable period of 90 days may be filed, but it should be supported with an application for condonation of delay by explaining the reasons, but no such application was filed in the instant case. He submits that the ....
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....r was not confiscated, but only attached and that on the death of the appellant, the property attached has to be released. 9. The learned counsel also referred to the decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Ganesan Rep. by its Power Agent G. Rukmani Ganesan v. Commissioner, Tamilnadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Board and Others (2019) 7 SCC 108; M.P. Steel Corporation v Commissioner of Central Excise (2015) 7 SCC 58; Consolidated Engg. Enterprises v. Principal Secretary, Irrigation Department and Others (2008) 7 SCC 169; L.S. Synthetics Ltd. v. Fairgrowth Financial Services Ltd. (2004) 11 SCC 456, Commissioner of Sales Tax, UP, Lucknow v. Parson Tools and Plants, Kanpur (1975) 4 SCC 22; U. Subadramma v State of Andhra Pradesh 2016 (7) TMI 1514 = AIR 2016 SC 3095 = AIR 2016 SC (Crl.) 1214; Indus Ind Media and Communication Ltd., Vs Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal and another 2012 SCC OnLine Bom 799-Bombay High Court etc., and seeks to set aside the order under appeals by answering the questions of Law in favour of the appellant. 10. Per contra, the learned counsel for the respondent made submissions to sustain the order of the Appellate Tribu....
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....Tribunal erred in applying the provisions of Civil Procedure Code, 1908 to the proceedings under the PMLA when Section 35 of the PMLA clearly stipulates that the provisions of CPC are not applicable to it, in the absence of any regulations? C) Whether the impugned order of the Hon'ble Tribunal was passed in violation of principles of natural justice and dismissal of the LR petition and the appeal as abated without giving proper opportunity to the appellant to defend her case, is sustainable? 13. For determination of the questions of Law with reference to the rival contentions, the relevant provisions of the PMLA, may be referred to. As per Section 2 (a) - "Adjudicating Authority" means an Adjudicating Authority appointed under sub-section (1) of Section 6 and; as per Section 2 (b) "Appellate Tribunal" means the Appellate Tribunal [referred to in] Section 25; Section 6 deals with Adjudicating Authorities, composition, powers etc., Chapter XI of the PMLA deals with the Appellate Tribunal and the provisions relating to the same. 14. Sections 25, 26, 35 and 42 of PMLA, which are relevant in the present context, are reproduced hereunder for ready reference: 25 : ....
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....ation of witnesses or documents; (f) reviewing its decisions; (g) dismissing a representation for default or deciding it ex parte; (h) setting aside any order or dismissal of any representation for default or any order passed by it ex parte; and (i) any other matter, which may be, prescribed by the Central Government. (3) An order made by the Appellate Tribunal under this Act shall be executable by the Appellate Tribunal as a decree of civil court and, for this purpose, the Appellate Tribunal shall have all the powers of a civil court. (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3), the Appellate Tribunal may transmit any order made by it to a civil court having local jurisdiction and such civil court shall execute the order as if it were a decree made by that court. (5) All proceedings before the Appellate Tribunal shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of Sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the Appellate Tribunal shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of Sections 345 and 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1874). 42. Appeal to H....
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....icle 120 of the Limitation Act provides three (3) months period for filing an application, the learned Appellate Tribunal opined that it is appropriate to apply the said period of limitation, as otherwise the Tribunal is clothed with power to regulate its own procedure. It also observed that the reason for the application of Article 120 of the Limitation Act is to keep the proceedings alive in the hands of one who can pursue, otherwise it would be in the hands of a dead person, who cannot pursue the litigation and therefore, the substitution of the deceased is to be made within a reasonable time. It expressed the view to the effect that application for substitution of deceased after reasonable period of three months can be filed, but it is to be supported by an application for condonation of delay, after explaining the reasons, but no application was filed for condonation of the delay in the case before it. It also relied on the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Shri Puran Singh v. State of Punjab (1996) 2 SCC 205. The Appellate Tribunal while dismissing the said application also dismissed the Appeal as abated. However, this Court is not inclined to subscribe to the view tak....
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....to the Appellate Tribunal; or (ii) in a case referred to in clause (b), such person dies or is adjudicated an insolvent during the pendency of the appeal, Then, it shall be lawful for the legal representatives of such person or the official assignee or the official receiver, as the case may be, prefer an appeal to the Appellate Tribunal or as the case may be, to continue the appeal before the Appellate Tribunal, in place of such person and the provisions of Section 26 shall, so far as may be, apply, or continue to apply, to such appeal. (2) where - (a) after passing of a decision or order by the Appellate Tribunal, no appeal has been preferred to the High Court under Section 42; or (b) any such appeal has been preferred to the High Court, then - (i) in a case referred to in clause (a), the person entitled to file the appeal dies or is adjudicated an insolvent before preferring an appeal to the High Court, or (ii) in a case referred to in clause (b), the person who had filed the appeal dies or its adjudicated an insolvent during the pendency of the appeal before the High Court, then, it shall be lawful for the l....
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....mmissioner. Against the orders of the learned Single Judge, a Writ Appeal was preferred and a Division Bench, after referring to the provisions of the Act held that it does not exclude the applicability of the Limitation Act, 1963. 23. In the appeal carried against the said decision, referring to the earlier legal precedents including M.P. Steel Corporation's case, wherein it was inter alia opined that the Limitation Act applies only to Courts and not to the Tribunals etc; the Hon'ble Supreme Court answered the questions formulated by it at Para Nos.60.1 and 60.2 as follows: 60.1 The applicability of Section 29 (2) of the Limitation Act is with regard to different limitations prescribed for any suit, appeal or application when to be filed in a court. 60.2 Section 29 (2) cannot be pressed in service with regard to filing of suits, appeals and applications before the statutory authorities and tribunals provided in a special or local law. The Commissioner while hearing of the appeal under Section 69 of the 1959 Act is not entitled to condone the delay in filing appeal, since, provision of Section 5 shall not be attracted by strength of Section 29 (2) of the Act. ....
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....n Act to an application submitted under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act and that on the contrary Section 43 makes the provisions of Limitation Act applicable to Arbitration proceedings held that the provisions of Section 14 of the Limitation Act would be applicable to an application submitted under Section 34 of the Act of 1996 for setting aside the award made by the arbitrator. In a separate, but concurring judgment, Raveendran, J., at Para No.44 held as follows: "44. It may be noticed at this juncture that the Schedule to the Limitation Act prescribes the period of limitation only to proceedings in courts and not to any proceeding before a tribunal or quasi-judicial authority. Consequently Section 3 and 29 (2) of the Limitation Act will not apply to proceedings before the tribunal. This means that the Limitation Act will not apply to appeals or applications before the tribunals, unless expressly provided." 29. In L.S. Synthetics Ltd., case referred to supra, the Hon'ble Supreme Court had an occasion to examine the provisions of the Special Courts (Trial of offences Relating to Transactions in Securities) Act, 1992. A Three Member Bench inter alia held that the Limit....
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....Court is contrary to the statutory provisions and the same is not sustainable. In the light of the conclusions, the order of the appellate Tribunal in dismissing the L.R., Petition is not correct and Question No.1 is answered accordingly. 32. The order of the Tribunal pressing into service the provisions of C.P.C., i.e., Order 22 and thereby dismissing the appeal as abated is also not tenable. Even if the appeal is abated, the right conferred under statute viz., Section 72 cannot be taken away on the ground that no formal application to condone the delay was filed. As noted earlier, Section 35 provides for limited application of the provisions of the C.P.C., and no regulations have been framed formulating the procedure / applicability of provisions of C.P.C., under Order 22 etc., If the Appellate Tribunal's order dismissing the appeal as abated is to be accepted, the same would render Section 72 (1) (b) (ii) of the Act otiose. The very fact that continuation of appeal or filing of an appeal before the Appellate Tribunal in terms of Section 72 (1) and continuation of appeal or filing of appeal before the High Court under Section 72 (2) would indicate that the proceedings under th....