Srinagar- The High Court of J&K and Ladakh on Thursday ruled that the Appellate Tribunal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 possesses the power to remand cases to the adjudicating authority as an inherent extension of its jurisdiction to annul contested orders.

“The power to set aside an order by the Appellate Tribunal includes the power to remand, which is a necessary attribute or concomitant of the power to annul or set aside the order under appeal, unless such power is expressly, or by necessary implication or intendment, taken away by the statute which creates the appellate tribunal,” said a bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Sanjay Parihar while dismissing a batch of related plea.

The bench responded in affirmative to common question of law that whether the appellate Tribunal defined under Section 2 (b) of the Act of 2002 and exercising powers under Section 26 thereof is empowered to remand the matter back to the Adjudicating Authority after setting aside the order of confirmation passed by the latter confirming the provisional attachment made by the authorized officer under Section 5 of the Act of 2002?”

The power of remand is an important postulate of any authority exercising appellate jurisdiction and vested with the power to confirm, modify or set aside the order appealed against, the court underlined.

“Such power is a necessary concomitant to the powers of the Appellate Authority to pass the orders like the order of confirmation, modification or setting aside,” the court said, adding,“Absent such power, the power to set aside or annul the order appealed against, that too, on the technical grounds, like non compliance with the principle of natural justice, would render the power itself illusory and ineffective.”

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