The applicant or appellant may either appear in person or authorise one or more chartered accountants or company secretaries or cost accountants or legal practitioners or any of its officers to present his or its case before the Appellate Tribunal or the Regulatory Authority or the adjudicating officer, as the case may be.
Explanation.: - For the purposes of this section,--
(a) “chartered accountant” means a chartered accountant as defined in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (38 of 1949) or any other law for the time being in force and who has obtained a certificate of practice under sub-section (1) of section 6 of that Act;
(b) “company secretary” means a company secretary as defined in clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Company Secretaries Act, 1980 (56 of 1980) or any other law for the time being in force and who has obtained a certificate of practice under sub-section (1) of section 6 of that Act;
(c) “cost accountant” means a cost accountant as defined in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 (23 of 1959) or any other law for the time being in force and who has obtained a certificate of practice under sub-section (1) of section 6 of that Act;
(d) “legal practitioner” means an advocate, vakil or an attorney of any High Court, and includes a pleader in practice.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 56
Section 56 establishes the statutory right of legal representation before the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal and Regulatory Authority, permitting appearance by legal practitioners, chartered accountants, company secretaries, or cost accountants.
In disputes involving complex forensic escrow diversion, combining an experienced RERA litigator with a forensic Chartered Accountant provides the most effective courtroom strategy before the Authority.