CHAPTER
X
THE
CYBER REGULATIONS APPELLATE TRIBUNAL.
48.Establishment of Cyber Appellate Tribunal.
(1) The Central Government shall, by notification, establish one or
more appellate tribunals to be known as the Cyber Regulations Appellate
Tribunal.
(2) The Central Government shall also specify, in the notification
referred to in sub-section (1), the matters and places in relation to which the
Cyber Appellate Tribunal may exercise jurisdiction.
49.Composition of Cyber Appellate Tribunal.
A Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall consist of one person only
(hereinafter referred to as the Presiding Officer of the Cyber Appellate
Tribunal) to be appointed, by notification, by the Central Government.
50.Qualification for appointment as Presiding Officer of the Cyber
Appellate Tribunal.
A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the Presiding
Officer of a Cyber Appellate Tribunal unless he—
(a) is, or has been, or is qualified to
be, a Judge of a High Court; or
(b) is or has been a member of the
Indian Legal Service and is holding or has held a post in Grade I of that
Service for at least three years.
51.Term of office.
The Presiding Officer of a Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall hold
office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters his office or
until he attains the age of sixty-five years.
52.Salary, allowance and other terms and conditions of service of
Presiding Officer.
The salary and allowances payable to and the other terms and
conditions of service including pension, gratuity and other retirement benefits
of, the Presiding Officer of a Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall be such as may be
prescribed:
Provided that neither the salary and allowances nor the other terms
and conditions of service of the Presiding Officer shall be varied to his
disadvantage after appointment.
53.Filling up of vacancies.
If, for reason other than temporary absence, any vacancy occurs in
the office of the Presiding Officer of a Cyber Appellate Tribunal, then the
Central Government shall appoint another person in accordance with the
provisions of this Act to fill the vacancy and the proceedings may be continued
before the Cyber Appellate Tribunal from the stage at which the vacancy is
filled.
54.Resignation and removal.
(1) The Presiding Officer of a Cyber Appellate Tribunal may, by
notice in writing under his hand addressed to the Central Government, resign his
office:
Provided that the said Presiding Officer shall, unless he is
permitted by the Central Government to relinquish his office sooner, continue to
hold office until the expiry of three months from-the date of receipt of such
notice or until a person duly appointed as his successor enters upon his office
or until the expiry of his term of office, whichever is the earliest
(2) The Presiding Officer of a Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall not be
removed from his office except by an order by the Central Government on the
ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity after an inquiry made by a Judge of
the Supreme Court in which the Presiding Officer concerned has been informed of
the charges against him and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in
respect of these charges.
(3) The Central Government may, by rules, regulate the procedure for
the investigation of misbehaviour or incapacity of the aforesaid Presiding
Officer.
55. Orders constituting Appellate Tribunal to be final and not to
invalidate its proceedings.
No order of the Central Government appointing any person as the
Presiding Officer of a Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall be called in question in
any manner and no act or proceeding before a Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall be
called in question in any manner on the ground merely of any defect in the
constitution of a Cyber Appellate Tribunal.
56. Staff of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal.
(1) The Central Government shall provide the Cyber Appellate
Tribunal with such officers and employees as that Government may think fit.
(2) The officers and employees of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall
discharge their functions under general superintendence of the Presiding
Officer.
(3) The salaries and allowances and other conditions of service of
the officers and employees of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall be such as may
be prescribed by the Central Government.
57.Appeal to Cyber Regulations Appellate Tribunal
(1) Save as provided in sub-section (2), any person aggrieved by an
order made by Regulations, the Controller or an adjudicating officer under this
Act may prefer an appeal to a Cyber Appellate Tribunal Appellate having
jurisdiction in the matter.
(2) No appeal shall lie to the Cyber Appellate Tribunal from an
order made by an adjudicating officer with the consent of the parties.
(3) Every appeal under sub-section (1) shall be filed within a
period of forty-five days from the date on which a copy of the order made by the
Controller or adjudicating officer is received by the person aggrieved and it
shall be in such form and be accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed:
Provided that the Cyber Appellate Tribunal may entertain an appeal after the
expiry of the said period of forty-five days if it is satisfied that there was
sufficient cause for not filing it within that period.
(4) On receipt of an appeal under sub-section (1), the Cyber
Appellate Tribunal may, after giving the parties to the appeal, an opportunity
of being heard, pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit, confirming, modifying
or setting aside the order appealed against
(5) The Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall send a copy of every order
made by it to the parties to the appeal and to the concerned Controller or
adjudicating officer.
(6) The appeal filed before the Cyber Appellate Tribunal under
sub-section (1) shall be dealt with by it as expeditiously as possible and
endeavour shall be made by it to dispose of the appeal finally within six months
from the date of receipt of the appeal.
58.Procedure andpowers of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal.
(1) The Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure
laid down by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 but shall be guided by the
principles of natural justice and, subject to the other provisions of this Act
and of any roles, the Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall have powers to regulate its
own procedure including the place at which it shall have its sittings.
(2) The Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall have, for the purposes of
discharging their functions under this Act, the same powers as are vested in a
civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 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 or other
electronic records;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavits;
(d) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or
documents;
(e) reviewing its decisions;
(f) dismissing an application for default or deciding it ex pane-,
(5) any other matter which may be prescribed.
(3) Every proceeding before the Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall be
deemed .to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 arid 228,
and for the purposes of section 196 of the Indian Penal Code and the Cyber
Appellate Tribunal shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of
section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
59.Procedure and powers of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal.
The appellant may either appear in person or authorise one or more
legal practitioners * or any of its officers to present his or its case before
the Cyber Appellate Tribunal
60.
Limition.-
The provisions of the Limitation Act, 1963, shall, as far as may be,
apply to an appeal made to the Cyber Appellate Tribunal.
61.Civil court not to have jurisdiction
No court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any suit or proceeding
in respect of any matter which an adjudicating officer appointed under this Act
or the Cyber Appellate Tribunal constituted under this Act is empowered by or
under this Act to determine and no injunction shall be granted by any court or
other authority in respect of any action taken or to be taken in pursuance of
any power conferred by or under this Act.
62.Appeal to High court
Any person aggrieved by any decision or order of the Cyber Appellate
Tribunal may file an appeal to the High Court within sixty days from the date of
communication of the decision or order of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal to him on
any question of fact or law arising out of such order:
Provided that the High Court may, if it is satisfied that the
appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal within the
said period, allow it to be filed within a further period not exceeding sixty
days.
63. Compounding of contraventions
(1) Any contravention under this Chapter may, either before or after
the institution of adjudication proceedings, be compounded by the Controller or
such other officer as may be specially authorised by him in this behalf or by
the adjudicating officer, as the case may be, subject to such conditions as the
Controller or such other officer or the adjudicating officer may specify:
Provided that such sum shall not, in any case, exceed the maximum
amount of the penalty which may be imposed under this Act for the contravention
so compounded.
(2) Nothing in sub-section (/) shall apply to a person who commits
the same or similar contravention within a period of three years from the date
on which the first contravention, committed by him, was compounded.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section, any second or
subsequent contravention committed after the expiry of a period of three years
from the date on which the contravention was previously compounded shall be
deemed to be a first contravention.
(3) Where any contravention has been compounded under sub-section
(/), no proceeding or further proceeding, as the case may be, shall be taken
against the person guilty of such contravention in respect of the contravention
so compounded.
64. Recovery of penalty
A penalty imposed under this Act, if it
is not paid, shall be recovered as an arrear of land revenue and the
license or
the Digital Signature Certificate, as the case may be, shall be suspended till
the penalty is paid.
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