9911796707
TMI Blog2009 (5) TMI 683X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he order dated 21st July, 2006 passed by the Commissioner, Lucknow, and communicated to the appellants on 29th August, 2006 by filing the said appeal on 30th October, 2006 along with stay application. 4. When the application for stay came up for hearing on 30th November, 2006, by referring to the decision of the Apex Court in the case of ONGC v. CCE, Calcutta, 1992 (61) E.L.T. 3 (S.C.), the said application along with the appeal was dismissed for want of clearance from COD. 5. The present application came to be filed on 6th February, 2009 stating that the Committee on Disputes (COD) granted clearance under letter dated 14th February, 2008 and, therefore, the appeal and the application for stay should be restored. 6. When t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... overnment or public bodies is expected. According to the learned advocate for the applicants, the order of the Supreme Court as regards the purpose behind the need for clearance from COD is very clear, the question of denying the statutory right to the appellants by dismissal of appeal on account of absence of clearance from COD would not arise, as the dismissal on that count would virtually result in great injustice to the appellants. 8. On the other hand, learned DR submitted that, once the Apex Court has laid down that the Courts or Tribunals should not proceed with a matter in the absence of clearance from COD, no fault can be found with the order passed by this Tribunal dismissing the appeal for want of clearance from COD and con ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t regard, the Apex Court had ruled thus- "It shall be the obligation of every court and every Tribunal where such a dispute is raised hereafter to demand a clearance from the Committee in case it has not been so pleaded and in the absence of the clearance, the proceedings would not be proceeded with." 3. Further, in ONGC's case (supra) [reported in 1994 (70) E.L.T. 45 (S.C.)], the Apex Court had clearly ruled that : "Accordingly, there, should be no bar to the lodgement of an appeal or petition either by the Union of India or the Public Sector Undertakings before any court or tribunal so as to save limitation. But, before such filing every endeavour should be made to have the clearance of the High Power Committee." Before ruling as ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iliation or clearance. Secondly, in view of the subsequent order of the Supreme Court in ONGCs case it does not lie with the High Power Committee to refuse clearance it has only two options - either to resolve the dispute or to grant clearance for the litigation." 5. Perusal of the decisions of the Apex Court in ONGCs' matters (supra) and the decision of the Delhi High Court in the case of Canara Bank v. Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (supra) would clearly disclose that the restriction imposed upon the Court or Tribunal for proceeding with the matters wherein the Government or the public body is one of the parties to the litigation is to the extent of refraining from proceeding with such matters till the clearance from COD is ob ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... create unwarranted pendency of the appeals before the Tribunal. Indeed, the apprehension in that regard is not totally unfounded. However, merely because the pendency may increase, that itself cannot be a ground to deny the statutory rights to the litigants. It will be entirely for the Legislature to take appropriate steps in that regard and it is beyond the domain of this institution to deal with the said aspect of the matter. 9. Once it is clear that the Tribunal could not have dismissed the appeal for want of clearance from COD, in our consideration opinion, mere delay on the part of the applicants in approaching the Tribunal, cannot be a ground to reject the application. Once it is shown that the original order of dismissal of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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