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How to Appeal a Data Protection Board Order to the Appellate Tribunal

Writer: Kaustav Chowdhury
Kaustav Chowdhury
4 minutes ago
6 min read

An appeal against a Data Protection Board order goes to the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, which section 2(a) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 designates as the Appellate Tribunal for this purpose. Section 29 of the Act and rule 22 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 govern the route, and both are digital by design.

Step 1: Check What Is in Force Before Advising on Remedies

By G.S.R. 843(E) dated November 13, 2025, issued under section 1(2), sections 18 to 26 came into force at once. Those are the provisions that constitute the Board. Section 27 except clause (d) of sub-section (1), and sections 28 to 34, come into force eighteen months after publication, and rule 22 sits in the matching group under G.S.R. 846(E) of the same date.

So the Board exists in law while its inquiry and penalty powers, and the appeal route against its orders, commence in May 2027. The single exception is section 27(1)(d), which commences one year after publication, in November 2026, together with rule 4. That provision lets the Board inquire into a breach of a condition of registration of a consent manager and impose a penalty, which makes consent manager registration the first live enforcement surface under the Act.

Step 2: Identify an Appealable Order

Section 29(1) gives a right of appeal to any person aggrieved by an order or direction made by the Board under the Act. Rule 22(1) repeats the formula. The subject matter is therefore an order or a direction, which is wider than a penalty: a direction issued on conclusion of an inquiry is appealable even where no monetary penalty follows.

Before advising on an appeal, read the order against section 33. Sub-section (1) permits a penalty only where the Board determines on conclusion of an inquiry that the breach is significant, and only after giving the person an opportunity of being heard. Those are two findings the order has to disclose, and their absence is a ground rather than a quibble.

Step 3: Diarise Sixty Days From Receipt

Section 29(2) requires the appeal to be filed within sixty days from the date of receipt of the order or direction appealed against, in such form and manner and with such fee as may be prescribed. The trigger is receipt, not the date the order bears.

Section 29(3) allows the Tribunal to entertain an appeal after that period if satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not preferring it in time. Treat that as a remedy for accident rather than a planning assumption, and record the date and mode of receipt the moment the order arrives, because that record is what a condonation application will turn on.

Step 4: File Digitally and Deal With the Fee

Rule 22(1) requires the appeal to be filed in digital form, in the form the Appellate Tribunal specifies. Rule 22(2) fixes the fee at the amount payable for an appeal under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997, which is the statute under whose section 14 the Tribunal was established.

Two features of the fee provision matter in practice. The Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal may reduce or waive the fee at her discretion, which is worth an express application where the appellant is an individual data principal. And payment is made digitally, through the Unified Payments Interface or another payment system authorised by the Reserve Bank of India, so there is no demand draft step to plan around.

Step 5: Plead to the Tribunal's Own Procedure

Rule 22(3) provides that the Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but is guided by the principles of natural justice and may, subject to the Act, regulate its own procedure. Section 29(8) preserves the operation of sections 14A and 16 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 and contemplates a prescribed procedure.

Draft accordingly. A memorandum built around civil procedure technicality is the wrong instrument; what carries weight is a natural justice case made on the face of the record, which means pleading what material was relied on, what was disclosed, and what hearing was given.

Step 6: Prepare for a Digital Hearing

Rule 22(3) also provides that the Tribunal functions as a digital office and may adopt techno-legal measures to conduct proceedings in a manner that does not require physical presence, while retaining the power to summon and enforce the attendance of persons and examine them on oath. Section 29(10) says the same thing at the level of the Act, as section 28(1) and rule 20 do for the Board.

The consequence is that the record is electronic from the first filing. Keep the pagination and hyperlinking of the appeal paper book usable on screen, and expect evidence to be taken remotely, with the summoning power available where a witness will not attend.

Step 7: Know What the Tribunal Can Do, and What Comes After

Section 29(4) allows the Tribunal, after giving the parties an opportunity of being heard, to pass such orders as it thinks fit, confirming, modifying or setting aside the order appealed against, and section 29(5) requires a copy of every order to go to the Board and to the parties. Section 29(6) requires the appeal to be dealt with as expeditiously as possible, with an endeavour to dispose of it within six months of presentation, and section 29(7) requires the Tribunal to record reasons in writing where it does not.

Beyond the Tribunal, section 29(9) provides that where an appeal is filed against its orders, section 18 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 applies. So the onward route is the one that statute provides, and that should be factored into the advice at the outset rather than at the end.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

  • Advising on the appeal route as though it were live: Sections 28 to 34 and rule 22 commence with the eighteen month tranche. Only the Board's constitution under sections 18 to 26 is in force now.

  • Counting sixty days from the date on the order: Section 29(2) runs the period from the date of receipt, which makes the record of receipt a document worth creating at once.

  • Treating condonation as routine: Section 29(3) requires the Tribunal to be satisfied that there was sufficient cause for the delay.

  • Appealing only against penalties: Section 29(1) and rule 22(1) extend to any order or direction of the Board, so a direction without a penalty is appealable.

  • Overlooking the two findings section 33(1) requires: A penalty needs a determination that the breach is significant and an opportunity of being heard, and the order should disclose both.

  • Ignoring the fee waiver: Rule 22(2) lets the Chairperson reduce or waive the fee, which is worth an express application for an individual appellant.

  • Preparing a paper book for a paper hearing: Rule 22(3) and section 29(10) make the Tribunal a digital office, and filing is digital under rule 22(1).

Key Statutory Provisions

  • Section 2 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023: Clause (a) defines the Appellate Tribunal as the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal established under section 14 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.

  • Section 28 of the Act: Sub-section (1) requires the Board to function as an independent body and, as far as practicable, as a digital office that is digital by design.

  • Section 29 of the Act: The right of appeal for a person aggrieved, the sixty day period from receipt, condonation on sufficient cause, the power to confirm, modify or set aside, the six month endeavour with reasons recorded for any delay, the application of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 and the Tribunal's functioning as a digital office.

  • Section 33 of the Act: A penalty may be imposed only where the Board determines on conclusion of an inquiry that the breach is significant and after an opportunity of being heard, with the matters to be regarded in fixing the amount set out in sub-section (2).

  • Rule 22 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025: Digital filing in the form the Tribunal specifies, a fee equal to that for an appeal under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 which the Chairperson may reduce or waive, digital payment, freedom from the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 subject to natural justice, and functioning as a digital office with the power to summon and examine on oath.

Sources and References


Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult a qualified legal professional for advice specific to their circumstances.

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