/The Act · Chapter VII · Appeal and Alternate Dispute Resolution
Section 29: Appeal to Appellate Tribunal
DPDP Act, 2023 (No. 22 of 2023). Comes into force on 13 May 2027.
- Provision
- Section 29 of The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023
- Status
- Comes into force on 13 May 2027 (phase 3) G.S.R. 843(E)
- Rules made under it
- Rule 22
- Source
- Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department) · 11 August 2023 · Official PDF
Any person aggrieved by an order or direction made by the Board under this Act may prefer an appeal before the Appellate Tribunal.
Every appeal under sub-section (1) shall be filed within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of the order or direction appealed against and it shall be in such form and manner and shall be accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed.
The Appellate Tribunal may entertain an appeal after the expiry of the period specified in sub-section (2), if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within that period.
On receipt of an appeal under sub-section (1), the Appellate Tribunal may, after giving the parties to the appeal, an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit, confirming, modifying or setting aside the order appealed against.
The Appellate Tribunal shall send a copy of every order made by it to the Board and to the parties to the appeal.
The appeal filed before the Appellate Tribunal under sub-section (1) shall be dealt with by it as expeditiously as possible and endeavour shall be made by it to dispose of the appeal finally within six months from the date on which the appeal is presented to it.
Where any appeal under sub-section (6) could not be disposed of within the period of six months, the Appellate Tribunal shall record its reasons in writing for not disposing of the appeal within that period.
Without prejudice to the provisions of section 14A and section 16 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997, the Appellate Tribunal shall deal with an appeal under this section in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed.
Where an appeal is filed against the orders of the Appellate Tribunal under this Act, the provisions of section 18 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 shall apply.
In respect of appeals filed under the provisions of this Act, the Appellate Tribunal shall, as far as practicable, function as a digital office, with the receipt of appeal, hearing and pronouncement of decisions in respect of the same being digital by design.
If a person is unhappy with an order or direction from the Board, they can appeal to the Appellate Tribunal. This appeal must be filed within sixty days from the date they receive the Board's order. The exact form, process, and fee for the appeal will be set out in future rules. However, the Appellate Tribunal can accept an appeal after the sixty-day limit if it is satisfied that there was a sufficient cause for the delay.\n\nOnce an appeal is filed, the Appellate Tribunal will give the involved parties a chance to be heard. It can then decide to confirm, modify, or completely set aside the Board's original order. The Tribunal must send a copy of its final decision to both the Board and the parties involved in the appeal.\n\nThe Appellate Tribunal is expected to work quickly. It must try to resolve the appeal within six months from the date it is filed. If the process takes longer than six months, the Tribunal must write down its reasons for the delay. The Tribunal is also required to operate as a digital office as much as possible, meaning the filing, hearings, and decisions should be digital by design. Appeals against the Tribunal's own orders will follow specific rules under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.
Key points
- Any person aggrieved by an order from the Board can appeal to the Appellate Tribunal (1).
- Appeals must be filed within sixty days of receiving the order, along with a prescribed fee (2).
- The Appellate Tribunal can accept late appeals if there is a sufficient cause for the delay (3).
- The Tribunal can confirm, modify, or set aside the Board's order after hearing the parties (4).
- The Tribunal must try to finalize the appeal within six months, and must record reasons in writing if it takes longer (6, 7).
- The Tribunal must function as a digital office as far as practicable (10).
Common misreadings
- People might think a late appeal is automatically rejected, but the Tribunal can accept it if there was sufficient cause for the delay.
- People might assume the Tribunal must finish the appeal in exactly six months, but it is only required to try to do so and must record reasons if it takes longer.
Interpretation prepared from the official text only, 9 September 2026. The official text above prevails.
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