KPR PLASTIC LIMITED Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) C .M.S.A.M.P. No. 119 of 2012:

(2.) PROCEEDINGS were initially launched against the appellants before the Deputy Director, Enforcement Directorate, under the provisions of Act on the letter dated 03 -11 -1995 from the Reserve Bank of India. In the process, notice was issued to the appellants on 19 -12 -2001 by the Enforcement Directorate to produce the concerned machinery. When the orders of the Deputy Director dated 24 -9 -2001 were challenged before the Appellate Tribunal, the appellants were granted stay on 23 -9 -2002. However, two criminal cases were instituted against the appellants in C.C. No. 69 of 2002 for non payment of the penalty and C.C. No. 99 of 2002 for violation of the provisions of Sections 8(3) and 8(4) of the Act. The two cases were pending on the file of the Special Court for Economic Offences, at Hyderabad.

(3.) THE appellants filed W.P. No. 22039 of 2002 seeking stay of the criminal proceedings. The appellants initially obtained interim order in their favour. However, on 28 -11 -2008, the writ petition was finally disposed of staying the prosecution of the two criminal cases pending final orders by the Appellate Tribunal. The important point in this context is that the Appellate Tribunal had already disposed of Appeal No. 206 of 2002 filed by the appellants on 15 -9 -2008. However, the orders in the writ petition dated 28 -11 -2008 stayed the criminal proceedings until disposal of the appeal before the Appellate Tribunal, which was already disposed of. It would appear that the orders in W.P. No. 22039 of 2002 were passed after hearing both sides. It is contended by the learned Senior Counsel for the appellants that neither the appellants nor the contesting respondents (respondents 1 and 3) were aware about the disposal of the appeal till 2010, lest the contesting respondents would have brought it to the notice of the High Court in W.P. No. 22039 of 2002 that the Appellate Tribunal had already disposed of the appeal.