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2019 (3) TMI 20 - HC - Indian LawsCondonation of delay of 457 days in filing appeal - appeal rejected on the ground that it was filed beyond the period as prescribed under Sub-section (1) of Section 68-O of the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 - forfeited property. Whether the Appellate Tribunal can entertain an appeal from an order of a Competent Authority, which is filed after expiry of sixty days from the receipt of the order? Whether this Court can condone the delay beyond the said period in exercise of its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India? Held that:- The plain reading of the proviso to Sub-section (1) of Section 68-O of the NDPS Act indicates that the Appellate Tribunal has no jurisdiction to entertain an appeal which is filed beyond a period of sixty days from the date on which the order passed by the Competent Authority is served on the appellant. An appeal under Sub-section (1) of Section 68-O of the NDPS Act can be filed only within a period of 45 days from the date on which the order is served. However, the Appellate Tribunal can entertain an appeal even beyond the said period of 45 days if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the said appeal. However, this power is not available to entertain an appeal beyond a period of 60 days. The contention that the petitioner has any inherent right to file an appeal against the order of the Competent Authority, is flawed. It is well settled that an appeal is a creature of statute and there is no inherent right of appeal. In Durga Shankar Mehta v. Thakur Raghuraj Singh and Ors [1954 (5) TMI 25 - SUPREME COURT] the Supreme Court had held that It is well known that an appeal is a creature of statute and there can be no inherent right of appeal from any judgment or determination unless an appeal is expressly provided for by the law itself. Plainly, if the right of appeal is a creature of statute, it would be open for the legislature to curtail the said right as well. Therefore, there is no infirmity in the legislature providing a limited right of appeal. The Parliament has provided a right of appeal against an order of the Competent Authority, albeit, subject to the condition that the same be preferred within the specified period. It has expressly curtailed the power of the Appellate Tribunal to entertain an appeal which is filed beyond the specified period. Thus, a person aggrieved by an order of the Competent Authority has no right to an appeal if the same is not preferred within the prescribed period. Clearly, if the petitioner has no statutory right to file an appeal, the question of issuing directions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to provide the same, contrary to the statue, would not arise - Since, the right to appeal is a statutory right, this court is not persuaded to accept that relief can be granted to the petitioner who has lost such a right on account of delay. Petition dismissed.
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