9911796707
TMI Blog2005 (11) TMI 257X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... T-4/3-M/95/SCN(1), T-4/3-M/95-SCN-II, T-4/4-M/95-SCN-1, and T-4/4-M/95-SCN-II/Comr/Exp/Enf/15/2003 dated 20-8-2004 and declare the same to be illegal, arbitrary and without jurisdiction. 2. The Director of Directorate of Enforcement, New Delhi-2nd respondent registered cases against the petitioners for contravention of sections 9(1)( a ), 9(1)( b ), 9(1)( d ), 9(3) and 64(2) of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (hereinafter called as FERA). Show-cause notices to the petitioners were issued on 22-2-1995 followed by call notices on various dates and the latest being 20-9-2004 requiring their appearance on 28-9-2004 for con-duct of personal hearing. It is the contention of the petitioners that FERA has been repealed and in its place ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... th effect from 1-6-2000 repealed the FERA and provided a limitation of two years for taking notice of contraventions under the repealed Act by the adjudicating officers as stipulated in section 49(3) and 49(4) of FEMA. The limitation period expired on 31-5-2002. In order to conclude the adjudication proceedings, call notices were issued to the petitioners including the call notice dated 12-5-2004 for conduct of personal hearing before the adjudicating officer. The petitioners failed to co-operative with the adjudicating officer in respect of earlier call notices. Had the petitioners co-operated with the adjudicating officers the cases would have been adjudicated long before the FERA being repealed. The notice dated 20-8-2004 is only a call ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e respondents. 5. Learned Counsel appearing for the petitioners submits that since FERA has been repealed and in its place FEMA has been came into operation, appointment of adjudicator under the provisions of repealed Act is not legal and proper and therefore, the proceedings impugned in the writ petition are liable to be set aside. In support of his submissions, he placed reliance on the judgment of Supreme Court in Kolhapur Cane Sugar Works Ltd. v. Union of India AIR 2000 SC 811, wherein it has been held as follows : "The position is well-known that at common law, the normal effect of repealing a statute or deleting a provision is to obliterate it from the statute book as completely as if it had never been passed, and the statut ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... saved under section 49(3) of FEMA and therefore, the proceedings impugned in the writ petition are legal and proper. He further submits that since the notice issued to the petitioners are only show-cause notices, they are at liberty to challenge the same by filing an explanation taking all the pleas available to him and thus, the writ petition is not maintainable. Reliance has been placed on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Special Director v. Mohd. Ghulam Ghouse AIR 2004 SC 1467. 7. It is no more in dispute that the respondents issued show-cause notices dated 22-2-1995, 23-2-1995, 13-6-1995 and 15-6-1995 to the petitioners for contraventions of the provisions of FERA. Subsequently, FERA came to be repealed and in its place FEMA ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... including any rule, notification, inspection, order or notice made or issued or any appointment, confirmation or declaration made or any licence, permission, authorization or exemption granted or any document or instrument executed or any direction given under the Act hereby repealed shall, insofar as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act; ( b )any appeal preferred to the Appellate Board under sub-section (2) of section 52 of the repealed Act but not disposed of before the commencement of this Act shall stand transferred to and shall be disposed of by the Appellate Tribunal constituted under this Act; ( c )every appeal from any decisio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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