Can Registry Refuse To Register Curative Petition Merely Because Review Petition Was Heard & Dismissed In Open Court? Supreme Court To Examine

Can the Supreme Court registry refuse to register a curative petition on the ground that the review petition was heard and dismissed in open Court? The Supreme Court has agreed to examine this issue. 

The bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia appointed Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran as Amicus Curiae in this matter.

Brahmaputra Concrete Pipe Industries had filed some curative petitions. The SC Registry declined to register the curative petition on the ground that the review petitions  were dismissed upon hearing in open Court and that such dismissal was not by circulation.

Before the Apex Court bench, the petitioner's counsel Advocate Anand Sanjay M Nuli contended that this conclusion reached by the Registry runs contrary to the decision in Rupa Ashok Hurra v. Ashok Hurra [(2002) 4 SCC, 388]. He submitted that this issue requires interpretation of Rule 2(1) Order XLVIII of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013.

We have also been apprised at the Bar that there would be many other matters of similar nature, which are liable to be affected by any decision reached by this Court in this case, the bench noted while directing listing of this matter on 30th January 2023.

Order XLVIII of the Supreme Court Rules deals with 'Curative Petition'. The Rules read as follows:

1. Curative Petitions shall be governed by Judgment of the Court dated 10th April, 2002 delivered in the case of 'Rupa Ashok Hurrah v. Ashok Hurrah and Ors.' in Writ Petition (C) No. 509 of 1997.
2. (1) The petitioner, in the curative petition, shall aver specifically that the grounds mentioned therein had been taken in the Review Petition and that it was dismissed by circulation. (2) A Curative Petition shall be accompanied by a certificate of the Senior Advocate that the petition meets the requirements delineated in the above case. (3) A curative petition shall be accompanied by a certificate of the Advocate on Record to the effect that it is the first curative petition in the impugned matter.
3. The Curative Petition shall be filed within reasonable time from the date of Judgment or Order passed in the Review Petition.
   
4. (1) The curative petition shall be first circulated to a Bench of the three senior-most judges and the judges who passed the judgment complained of, if available.(2) Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, a curative petition shall be disposed of by circulation without any oral arguments but the petitioner may supplement his petition by additional written arguments.(3) If the Bench before which a curative petition was circulated concludes by a majority that the matter needs hearing then it shall be listed before the same Bench, as far as possible. (4) If the Court, at any stage, comes to the conclusion that the petition is without any merit and vexatious, it may impose exemplary costs on the petitioner.

Case details

Brahmaputra Concrete Pipe Industries vs Assam State Electricity Board | Miscellaneous Application No. 2045/2022 in Curative Petition D.No. 23828/2020 in R.P.(C)No.789/2019 in C.A.No.8450/2016

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