BACK TO IT ACT
IT Act 2000
Section 48
Establishment of Cyber Appellate Tribunal
THE STATUTE
Original Text
(1) The Central Government shall, by notification, establish one or more appellate tribunals to be known as the Cyber 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.
Simplified
Section 48 mandated establishment of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal (CAT) as the appellate body for orders of IT Act Adjudicating Officers. The CAT was established in 2006 with its seat in New Delhi. However, the CAT had a severely chequered history — frequent vacancies in the Chairperson position, inadequate staffing, and poor infrastructure resulted in significant pendency and effective non-functioning for extended periods. In 2017, the IT Act was amended to transfer the CAT's functions to the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). TDSAT — a well-staffed and functional tribunal with established procedures and technical expertise in technology disputes — now exercises Cyber Appellate Tribunal jurisdiction for all IT Act appeals. The practical implication for practitioners: IT Act appeals from Adjudicating Officer orders must now be filed before TDSAT, not before any separate cyber tribunal. Appeals from TDSAT's IT Act decisions lie to the High Court under Section 62.
Legal Evolution
The Cyber Appellate Tribunal's chronic dysfunction was a significant structural gap in the IT Act's enforcement architecture. Multiple Chairperson vacancies left the CAT non-functional for years at a time. The 2017 transfer to TDSAT was a pragmatic resolution — TDSAT already had institutional capacity, experienced technical members, and established procedural rules for complex technology disputes.
Key Amendments
CAT functions transferred to TDSAT by IT (Amendment) Act 2017.
Appeals from TDSAT IT Act decisions lie to High Court under Section 62.