Review Petition

SCP – REVIEW PETITION

In India, a binding decision of the High Court/Supreme Court can be reviewed in the Review petition. The parties aggrieved on the order of the Supreme Court on any apparent mistake can file a review petition. Considering the principle of stare decisis, without a strong case, the courts ordinarily do not unsettle a decision. This provision relating to Review is an exception to the legal principle of stare decisis.

Article 137 of the Constitution states that subject to provisions of any rule and law made under Article 145, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has the authority to review any order or judgement that is made or pronounced by it. Under Supreme Court Rules, 1966, this kind of petition needs to be filed within 30 days from the date of order or judgement. It is recommended that the petition should be circulated without oral arguments to the same bench of judges that announced the order or judgement sought to be reviewed.

Furthermore, even after the dismissal of a review petition, the Supreme Court may consider a curative petition to cure gross miscarriage of justice and to prevent abuse of its process.

A civil review petition can be moved under Order XLVII, Rule 1(1) of the Civil Procedure Code,1908 while a criminal review petition can be moved only on the ground of an error likely on the face of the record. (Source: CPC, 1908 and CRPC, 1973)

Key Points:

Constitutional Provision: According to Article 137 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has the power to review any of its orders or judgments.

Scope of Review

• The court has the authority and power to review its rulings to correct a “patent error” and not “minor mistakes of inconsequential import”.
• It implies that the court is not allowed to take fresh stock of the case but to correct grave errors that have led to the miscarriage of justice.

Filing Review Petition

• According to the Supreme Court rules and Civil Procedure Code, any individual aggrieved by a ruling can seek a review. It signifies that it is not mandatory that only parties involved in a case can seek a review of the judgment.
• The filing of a Review Petition must be done within 30 days of the date of order or judgement.
• In certain conditions, the court can condone the delay in filing the review petition if the petitioner can provide strong reasons to justify the delay.
• It is important to note that ajudgment is a final decision in a case whereas an order is an interim ruling which is subject to a final judgement.

Grounds for Considering a Review Petition

• The court does not consider every review petition that is filed. It can exercise its discretion to allow a review petition only when it determines the grounds for seeking the Review.
• The Supreme Court has provided three grounds for seeking a review of a verdict it has announced:
  • The discovery of essential and new evidence or matter which, after the exercise of due diligence, was not in the knowledge of the petitioner or could not be produced by him;
  • Error or mistake apparent on the face of the record; or
  • Any other reason that is comparable to the other two grounds

Procedure in the Court

• Review petitions are ordinarily to be entertained without any oral arguments by a lawyer. Thus, review petitions are heard “through circulation” by the judges inside their chambers.
• However, in exceptional cases, the court grants an oral hearing. During a case in 2014, the Supreme Court announced that review petitions relating to all death penalty cases would be heard in an open court by a Bench of three judges.
• The same combination also hears review petitionsof judges who delivered the original judgment or order that is required for reviewing
• Option after Review Petition Fails
• A curative petition can be heard after a review petition is dismissed. However, the verdict of the Supreme Court cannot result in miscarriage of justice.
• Like a review petition, a curative petition is also entertained on very narrow grounds and is generally not granted an oral hearing.