HC Can't Interfere With Order Of Inferior Courts To Correct Mere Errors Of Fact Or Law Exercising Art 227: Jharkhand HC [Read Order]

The Single Bench of Jharkhand High court while considering a writ petition under Article 227 held that the High court cannot interfere with order of inferior courts or tribunals to correct mere errors of fact or law while exercising the power under Article 227.

In a case (Panpati Devi v. Ram Barat Ram), the petitioner contested the order of the appellate court, rejecting their petition for amendment of pleadings under Order VI Rule 17 read with Section 151 CPC.

The petitioner repelled the finding of the trial court in a title suit that sale deed was obtained by fraudulent method in an appeal before the district court.

Thereafter, the petitioner filed an application for amendment of written statement under Order VI Rule 17 read with Section 151 CPC. The respondents astutely refuted to the amendment and subsequently, the appellant court rejected the application insomuch as the amendment is extraneous for the purpose of adjudication of the appeal.

The petitioner challenged the order of the appellant court and warranted the interference of the High Court under Article 227 of the Constitution.

The bench of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad of Jharkhand High Court after drawing its attention to several Supreme Court decisions succinctly observed that the High Court under Article 227 cannot assume unlimited prerogatives to correct all species of hardship or wrong decisions. Further, the court held that the power under Article 227 must not be exercised unless there has been an unwarranted assumption of jurisdiction by the court or tribunal or gross abuse of jurisdiction or unjustifiable refusal to exercise jurisdiction vested in the courts or tribunals.

Further, the court has distinguished between the powers under Article 226 and 227 of the constitution. Where while exercising the power under the former, the High Court normally annuls or quashes an order or proceeding but while exercising power under the latter, the High Court, apart from annulling the proceedings, can also substitute the impugned order by the order which the inferior tribunal should have made.

The High Court refrained to interfere with the order of the appellant court and dismissed the petition by assigning the reason that it fails to be a fit case to be entertained under Article 227 of the constitution.   

Read the Order Here