Tribunal must notify hearing dates per rules and natural justice; ex parte orders without prior notice or direction are procedural flaws amenable to recall under inherent powers, not review on merits. (28 words)

JUDGMENT

(Hybrid Mode)

Per : Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma, Member (Judicial):

The definition of word ``Tribunal’’ as given under sub-section 90 of Section (2) of the Companies Act, 2013, being that the Tribunal, which has been constituted under Section 408 of the Companies Act, 2013.

2. The Tribunal thus, constituted under the Companies Act, it discharges an adjudicatory function, which exercises and discharge such powers conferred on it, by or under the act or rules and regulations framed under it and for the time being in force.

3. The Tribunal(s) constituted under Section 408 of the Companies Act, 2013, they perform a judicial function determining the rights and liabilities of the parties to the proceedings depending upon the facts and circumstances of each case, and are judicial proceedings as per sub-section (4) of Section 424 of the Companies Act.

4. Any Body, which has been constituted under a Statute and discharges an adjudicatory functions, its procedure is required to be governed by specific law, in order to attach a principle of fairness and adherence of principle of natural justice, so as to remove any iota of bias which may or even if there is possibility of bias to creep in, in the functioning of the body which discharges these adjudicatory functions and since Tribunal being a Judicial Body, having been conferred with the powers to draw contempt, its functions and duties are to be performed in the light of the provisions and procedures contained under Section 424 of the Companies Act, 2013. Section 424 of the Companies Act is extracted hereunder:-

``Section 424. Procedure before Tribunal and Appellate Tribunal.

(1) The Tribunal and the Appellate Tribunal shall not, while disposing of any proceeding before it or, as the case may be, an appeal before it, be bound by the procedure laid down in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), but shall be guided by the principles of natural justice, and, subject to the other provisions of this Act ¹[or of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (31 of 2016)] and of any rules made hereunder, the Tribunal and the Appellate Tribunal shall have power to regulate their own procedure.

(2) The Tribunal and the Appellate Tribunal shall have, for the purposes of discharging their functions under this Act ¹[or under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (31 of 2016)], the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 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;

(c) receiving evidence on affidavits;

(d) subject to the provisions of sections 123 and 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), requisitioning any public record or document or a copy of such record or document from any office;

(e) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents;

(f) dismissing a representation for default or deciding it ex parte; (g) setting aside any order of dismissal of any representation for default or any order passed by it ex parte; and (h) any other matter which may be prescribed.

(3) Any order made by the Tribunal or the Appellate Tribunal may be enforced by that Tribunal in the same man