Facts leading to pure question of law going into root of matter can be pleaded in Appellate court for the first time.

V.L.S. Finance Limited vs. Union of India & Ors. Civil Appeal No. 2102 of 2004, Decided on May 10, 2013

  

The question whether Company Law Board has compounding authority was not at all advanced before the Company Law Board and, therefore, it was contended that the appellant couldn’t be permitted to raise this question for the first time before the appellate Court.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court held:

“We are not in agreement with Mr. Bhushan in regard to his plea that this question cannot be gone into by this Court at the first instance. In our opinion, in a case in which the facts pleaded give rise to a pure question of law going to the root of the matter, this Court possesses discretion to go into that. The position would have been different had the appellant for the first time prayed before this Court for adjudication on an issue of fact and then to apply the law and hold that Company Law Board had no jurisdiction to compound the offence.”

To see full text follow the link:
http://judis.nic.in/supremecourt/imgs1.aspx?filename=40398