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 Residing Officer of the Cyber Appellate
Tribunal) to be appointed, by notification, by the Central Government
50. Qualifications 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 upon his
office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier.
52. Salary, allowances 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 n 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, allowances and other conditions of
service of the officers and employees or' the Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall
be such as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
57. Appeal to Cyber Appellate Tribunal.
(1) Save as provided in sub-section (2), any person
aggrieved by an order made by Controller or an adjudicating officer under this
Act may prefer an appeal to a Cyber Appellate Tribunal 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 tony-five days from the date on which a copy of the order
made by the Controller or the 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 tony-five days if it is
satisfied that there was sufficient cause tor 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 and powers 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 rules, 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 its 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;
(g) 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
and 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. Right to legal representation.
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. Limitation.
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 (1) 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 (1), 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 licence or the Digital
Signature Certificate, as the case may be, shall be suspended till the penalty
is paid.