Section 37 Benami Act: Resignation of Chairperson and Members of Appellate Tribunal

Section 37 of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 governs how the Chairperson or any other Member of the Appellate Tribunal may resign from office. The provision was introduced as part of the 2016 amendment framework and forms part of Chapter V dealing with the Appellate Tribunal.

Current statutory name: The governing law is the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988. The 2016 amendment substantially expanded and renamed the earlier Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act. Section 37 is therefore best cited today as Section 37 of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988.

Section 37: Resignation and removal

The Chairperson or any other Member may, by notice in writing under his hand addressed to the Central Government, resign his office:

Provided that the Chairperson or any other Member 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 the 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 earlier.

What Section 37 means

Section 37 creates a formal resignation procedure for the Chairperson and other Members of the Appellate Tribunal. A resignation is not intended to operate merely through an informal communication. The Member must give written notice addressed to the Central Government.

Key points under Section 37:

The Chairperson or any other Member may resign.
The resignation must be made by notice in writing.
The notice must be addressed to the Central Government.
The office-holder normally continues for up to three months after receipt of the notice.
The Central Government may permit an earlier relinquishment of office.
The office also ends earlier if a duly appointed successor enters office or the existing term expires.

When does the resignation take effect?

Unless the Central Government permits the Chairperson or Member to leave earlier, the person continues in office until the earliest of three events: expiry of three months from receipt of the resignation notice, entry into office by a duly appointed successor, or expiry of the person's existing term.

Difference between resignation under Section 37 and removal under Section 35

Although the marginal heading of Section 37 uses the words "Resignation and removal", the operative text reproduced in the Act deals with resignation. The statutory grounds and procedure for removal of the Chairperson or a Member in specified circumstances are contained in Section 35.

Related provisions

Section 37 should be read with the surrounding provisions governing the Appellate Tribunal, including Section 34 on term of office, Section 35 on removal, Section 36 on vacancies, and Section 38 on a Member acting as Chairperson in certain circumstances.

Official legal source

For the latest consolidated statutory text, refer to the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 on India Code.