Article 137 of Indian Constitution, Interpretation, Purpose

Article 137 of Indian Constitution is discussed in Part V which grants the Supreme Court the authority to review its own judgments or orders. This power acts as a safeguard to ensure justice is served and to correct errors that may have occurred in earlier decisions. It reinforces judicial accountability and provides litigants with a limited avenue to seek reconsideration without approaching another forum. The review power is exercised under Article 137 of the Constitution, Order XLVII of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 and Provisions of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), 1908, where applicable.

Article 137 of Indian Constitution Interpretation

Article 137 of Indian Constitution provides that, subject to any law made by Parliament or rules framed under Article 145, the Supreme Court has the power to review any judgment pronounced or order made by it. This review jurisdiction ensures that the Court can correct its own errors in the interest of justice, but it is exercised only in rare and exceptional circumstances. The review power is guided by the principles laid out in Order 47 Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Code, which allows review in three situations:

• Discovery of new and important evidence not available earlier despite due diligence
• An apparent error on the face of the record
• Any other sufficient reason of comparable gravity

In R. D. Sagar vs V. Nagary (1976), the Supreme Court emphasized that while its judgments are final, they are open to review only on well-established grounds such as a grave or glaring error. The petitioner in this case contended that certain observations in the judgment portrayed him as guilty of abetting forgery and perjury. While the Court refused to entirely delete the remarks, it mitigated their impact by making specific modifications, illustrating its cautious and limited approach to the review power.

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