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Union of India v. M/s Premier Limited

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 102Decided 29 Jan 2019
Civil Appeal No. 3529 of 2008
Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre · Justice Indira Banerjee

Background

Respondent company and its directors were issued a show-cause notice in 1991 under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) for alleged violations in certain import/export transactions. After FERA was repealed and replaced by FEMA in 2000, an adjudication order imposing a penalty was passed in 2003, and the respondents' appeal against it was dismissed as "not maintainable" before the Special Director (Appeals). The Bombay High Court held that appeal was in fact maintainable before the Special Director (Appeals), prompting the Union of India to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined the transitional provisions of FERA and FEMA and held that any appeal filed after FERA's repeal (01.06.2000) against an order passed under Section 51 of FERA must go to the Appellate Tribunal under Section 19 of FEMA, not to the Special Director (Appeals) under Section 17, mirroring how pending appeals were already being transferred to the Appellate Tribunal. The Court reasoned that the legislature did not intend two different appellate routes for similar orders, as that would create anomalies such as unequal rights of further appeal to the High Court. It set aside the High Court's judgment and transferred the respondents' appeals to the Appellate Tribunal for disposal on merits.

Lesson Learnt

When a law is repealed and replaced by a new statute with its own appellate structure, the correct appellate forum for pending or related matters follows the new statute's transitional scheme: litigants must check which tribunal has jurisdiction after such a legislative transition, rather than assuming the older forum still applies.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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