Review of Judgments or Orders by the Supreme Court
Official heading: “Review of judgments or orders by the Supreme Court”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part V, Article 137, printed pages 63–64
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1. In One Sentence
Article 137 empowers the Supreme Court, subject to parliamentary law and court rules, to review any judgment pronounced or order made by it to correct manifest errors.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 137 provides a constitutional mechanism for the Supreme Court to self-correct its own judgments and orders.
As the court of final resort, no appeal lies against a Supreme Court judgment. However, to prevent miscarriages of justice resulting from human fallibility, Article 137 empowers the Court to review any judgment pronounced or order made by it.
This power is subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament and any rules made under Article 145.
Under Supreme Court Rules, a review petition must be filed within thirty days of the judgment and is ordinarily considered in chambers by circulation among the same judges who delivered the verdict.
Grounds for Review: Review is not a rehearing of the appeal; it is strictly limited to: (a) discovery of new and important matter or evidence; (b) some mistake or error apparent on the face of the record; or (c) any other sufficient reason analogous to Order 47 Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Beyond Review: In Rupa Ashok Hurra v. Ashok Hurra (2002), the Supreme Court evolved the doctrine of 'Curative Petition' under its inherent powers (Articles 137 and 142) as a final post-review remedy in cases of gross bias or natural justice violations.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
Following a Supreme Court property judgment, an official gazette notification proving that the disputed land was exempt from acquisition is discovered, which could not have been produced earlier despite due diligence.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 137 balances finality of litigation with the necessity of correcting judicial errors apparent on the record.
- Inherent power of self-correction vested in the apex court.
- Governed by thirty-day filing timelines under Supreme Court Rules.
- Strict grounds: Error apparent on face of record or newly discovered material evidence.
- Foundational source for the post-review Curative Petition doctrine.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part V, Article 137, printed pages 63–64 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.