Appellate Tribunal under PMLA can remand case back to adjudicating authority: High Court

Srinagar, Nov 20: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh Thursday, held that the Appellate Tribunal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, can remand back the case to the adjudicating authority as an inherent consequence of the power to set aside the order appealed against.

In a related matter, the question before the Court was “whether the appellate Tribunal defined under Section 2 (b) of the Act of 2002 and exercising powers under Section 26 thereof is empowered to remand the matter back to the Adjudicating Authority after setting aside the order of confirmation passed by the latter confirming the provisional attachment made by the authorized officer under Section 5 of the Act of 2002?”

The court answered in the affirmative and dismissed a batch of appeals as being devoid of merit.

“The power to set aside an order by the Appellate Tribunal includes the power to remand, which is a necessary attribute or concomitant of the power to annul or set aside the order under appeal, unless such power is expressly, or by necessary implication or intendment, taken away by the statute which creates the appellate tribunal,” said a division bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Sanjay Parihar.

The Court noted that the Appellate Tribunal has only set aside the confirmation order, not the proceedings before the Adjudicating Authority under Section 8 of the Act of 2002. “The Appellate Tribunal, by setting aside the confirmation order and remanding the matter back to the Adjudicating Authority, has merely restored the proceedings to the stage at which the Adjudicating Authority had passed the confirmation order”, it said.

The court underscored that the power of remand is an important postulate of any authority exercising appellate jurisdiction and vested with the power to confirm, modify or set aside the order appealed against.

“Such power is a necessary concomitant to the powers of the Appellate Authority to pass the orders like the order of confirmation, modification or setting aside,” the court said, adding, “Absent such power, the power to set aside or annul the order appealed against, that too, on the technical grounds, like non-compliance with the principle of natural justice, would render the power itself illusory and ineffective.”

This power is inherent in, and forms an integral part of, the power of the statutory appellate authority to annul or set aside an order under appeal, the court added.