Facts of the Case
- X received an adverse judgment from a lower court (for example, a civil court of first instance).
- X intends to challenge this decision.
- Instead of filing a regular appeal, X chooses to file a review petition in the next appellate court.
- X seeks to revisit the findings of the lower court without filing an appeal in the same court or seeking revision under supervisory jurisdiction.
Issues in the Case
- Whether a review petition can be filed in an appellate court against a lower court’s judgment.
- Whether Section 114 and Order XLVII Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 allow for such a procedure.
- Whether the appellate court has the jurisdiction to entertain a review of a judgment it did not deliver.
- Whether the remedy of appeal or revision is more appropriate in this scenario.
Principles Associated with It
- Section 114 CPC allows review by the same court which passed the decree or order, not by an appellate court.
- Order XLVII Rule 1 CPC clarifies that only the court that passed the decree or order can review it.
- A review is not a substitute for an appeal; it lies only on discovery of new and important matter, mistake or error apparent, or any other sufficient reason.
- If an appeal is available, a review generally becomes non-maintainable unless expressly permitted.
- Review jurisdiction is narrower and more restricted than appellate or revisional jurisdiction.
Judgment
- A review petition in the appellate court against a lower court’s judgment is not maintainable.
- X must either:
- File a review petition in the same lower court that passed the judgment, or
- File a regular appeal in the appropriate appellate court within the limitation period.
- Courts have consistently held that only the court that delivered the judgment may review it.
- Relevant case law such as Thungabhadra Industries v. Govt. of Andhra Pradesh (1964 AIR 1372) and Kamlesh Verma v. Mayawati (2013) reinforce that appellate courts cannot entertain review of judgments they did not deliver.
- Hence, X’s proposed action is procedurally incorrect and would likely be dismissed as not maintainable.
