TMI Blog1999 (5) TMI 613X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rte orders under the Act. It is further held on merit as well that the tribunal was wrong in granting an ex parte order of injunction. When we see Preamble to the Act, it provides for the establishment of Tribunals for expeditious adjudication and recovery of debts due to banks and financial institutions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Under Section 1,7 of the Act a Tribunal shall exercise jurisdiction, powers and authority to entertain and decide applications from the banks and financial institution for recovery of debts due to such banks and financial institutions. There is also a provision for establishment of Appellate Tribunal. Under section I8 Of the Act, no court or other authority shall have, or be entitled to exercise, any jurisdiction, powers or authority in relation to the matters specified in Section 17 of the Act. This bar of jurisdiction, however, does not apply to the Supreme Court or to a High Court exercising jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution. It is not necessary for us to consider as to how a Tribunal and Appellate Tribunal are established and their qualifications. Chapter IV of the Act provides for the pr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pose of the application finally within six months from the date of receipt of the application. Section 22 prescribes the procedure and powers of the Tribunal and that of the Appellate Tribunal and, in relevant part, it is as under ; 22. Procedure and powers of the Tribunal arid the Appellate Tribunal- (I) The Tribunal and the Appellate Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), but shall be guided by the principles of natural justice and, subject to the other provisions of this Act and of any rules, the Tribunal arid the Appellate Tribunal shall have their sittings. (2) The Tribunal and the Appellate Tribunal shall have, for the purposes of discharging their functions under this-Apt, the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), while trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, namely :- (a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath; (b) requiring the discovery and production of documents; (c) receiving evidence on affidavits; (d) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents; ( ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fined in clause (k) of Section 2 of the Act for recovery of the amount of debt specified in the certificate. That is the scheme of Section 1-9. But here we have left out sub-section (6) which empowers the Tribunal to pass interim order. The dispute is if the Tribunal can pass ex parte order, High Court relied on a decision of this Court in Morgan Stanley Mutual: Furid v. Kartick Das. [1994] 4 SCC 225, to hold that the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to grant ex parte order. The aforesaid judgment of this Court was under Section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act, 19.86 which Section did not provide for grant of any interim relief or even ad interim relief and provided only for final relief. At the same time. High Court noticed that this Court in this very judgment laid down principles to be taken into consideration by a court or tribunal while granting ex parte injunction. This Court has said that an ex parte order should be granted only under exceptional circumstances. Grant of ex parte order is not a rule but an exception. The factors which this Court said should weigh with the court to tribunal for the grant of ex parte injunction may be noted. These are : (a) whether irreparabl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ters, namely,- (0 the summoning and enforcing attendance of any defendant or witness and examining the witness on oath; (ii) the discovery and production of any document or other material objection producible as evidence; (iii) the reception of evidence on affidavits; (iv) the requisitioning of the report of the concerned analysis or test from the appropriate laboratory or from any other relevant source; (v) issuing of any commission for the examination of any witness; and (vi) any other matter which may be prescribed. We may also have a look at Section 53 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973, which is as under : 53. Powers of the adjudicating officer and the Appellate Board to summon witnesses, etc.-(1) without prejudice to any other provision contained in this Act, the adjudicating officer and the Appellate Board shall have all the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), while trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, namely :- (a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of witness; (b) requiring the discovery and production of any document; (c) requisitioning any public record or copy thereo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... order has to be decided without undue delay when the defendant puts in his appearance. It is not necessary to near long drawn arguments. Principles on which an interim order can be granted are well settled. Sub-section (8) of Section 19 requires that application for recovery of debt itself is to be disposed of finally within a period of six months from the date of. receipt of the application. That also shows the urgency to decide is an interim order of injunction or stay granted ex parte is to be continued or not. In our view, the High Court was not correct in holding that a Tribunal under the Act has no power to grant an ex parte order of injunction or stay. High Court also said that on merits as well the Tribunal was wrong in granting an ex parte order. It is not that High Court itself considered the merits of the case. Objection of the High Court was twofold :(1) the Tribunal did not give any reasons and (2) it was an omnibus order and that there was no reference even to prayers in the application and that the prayers stood allowed in terms of entire hog . Criticism of the High Court appears to be correct on that account. Judgment of the High Court, however, does not refer a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t could have remanded the matter to the Tribunal to take a decision expeditiously while, at the same time, continuing the interim order, in modified form or otherwise, since the circumstances of the case certainly so warranted. At this point of time, we do not know the stage of proceedings before the Tribunal. We do not know if there is any interim order passed by the Tribunal after the High Court stayed the operation of the ex parte order dated May 15, 1997. The object with which the Tribunal passed the ex parte order appears how to have been lost. We may not, therefore, interfere with the impugned judgment of the High Court setting aside the order dated May 15, 1997 of the Tribunal. But that is only because of passage of time and without our knowing the stage of proceedings before the Tribunal on the application filed by the ICICI under Section 19(1) of the Act. It will, however, be open to the Tribunal to pass an interim order on the plea of the ICICI if the matters is still pending before it. While not agreeing with the views expressed by the High Court, we will not interfere with impugned judgment in view of the circumstances narrated above. The appeals are disposed of acco ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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