1995 (11) TMI 380

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..... uthority, Bombay, under section 7 of the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976, whereby a group of properties were ordered to be forfeited, some of which are held in the name of the present appellant either individually or jointly with some other family member. The appeal was received in the Registry on May 9, 1995. The appellant being aware of the delay i .....

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..... dorsed to him, and he procured the same only through his lawyer on or about March 6, 1995, and that after receiving the same he instructed his cousin to file an appeal against the said order through his advocate, but since the said advocate was busy preparing for the trial of the appellant, the appeal could not be filed in time. He adds that another advocate of the appellant was out of India, and .....

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..... r 60 days, from the date of service of the order, "if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time". (emphasis supplied). A plain reading of the above provision shows, beyond any shadow of doubt, that the power which this Tribunal has under the statute for condonation of delay is only that of 15 days, after the expiry of the normal period of .....

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..... lay, nor any affidavit or any other material in support thereof which is essentially a question of fact, and this submission is being made for the first time today during hearing in court ; otherwise also in view of the fact that the statute does not vest any power in this Tribunal to condone any delay, even on sufficient cause being shown, after the expiry of 60 days from the date of service of t .....

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..... ions, as an occasion for considering exercise of inherent power arises only if the statute is silent on a particular point. As already discussed, here in this Act, there is an express limit of sixty days. We are, therefore, constrained to dismiss the application for condonation of delay. The appeal was not admitted for this reason and stands rejected being barred by time.
Case laws, Decisions .....

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