Procedure and Powers of competent authority and appellate authority.

(1) The competent authority and the appellate authority shall follow such procedure as may be prescribed, and subject thereto, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), shall, so far as they are not inconsistent with this Act or the rules or orders made thereunder, apply to all proceedings before the competent authority and the appellate authority.

(2) In proceedings under this Chapter, the competent authority shall have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court when trying a suit, and the appellate authority shall have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court when hearing an appeal, under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908).

(3) The competent authority and appellate authority shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purposes of sections 480 and 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898) and any proceeding before the competent authority and the appellate authority shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (45 of 1860).