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Article 32 can't assail our judgments: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that its judgments couldn't be assailed under Article 32 of the Constitution, but a litigant would have a remedy against "gross miscarriage" of justice through a curative writ subject to fulfilment of certain conditions.

A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S P Barucha, while laying down a mechanism for a remedy against its judgment when a litigant felt aggrieved, said: "Curative petition shall contain a certification by a senior advocate with regard to fulfilment of the guidelines laid down in this regard".

Disposing of a bunch of writ petitions asking if the apex court's judgments could be challenged under Article 32, the bench said: "Such petition can only be filed on limited grounds."

"Since the matter relates to final judgment of the court, though on limited grounds, the curative petition has to be first circulated to a bench of three senior most judges and the judges who have passed the order under challenge."

The curative petition would be maintainable only if the order of the court was against public interest or outside its jurisdiction, it said.

When a majority of these judges were convinced that the matter needed to be heard, only then it should be listed before the same bench, which had passed the order in question, the court said.

It said that an exemplary cost would be imposed on the petitioner if it found that there was no sufficient ground for assailing its judgment.

PTI

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