Indian Polity : Supreme Court Of India

Q 3 / 21

UPSC CSE Prelims 2021

With reference to Indian judiciary, consider the following statements:

  1. Any retired judge of the Supreme Court of India can be called back to sit and act as a Supreme Court judge by the Chief Justice of India with prior permission of the President of India.
  2. A High Court in India has the power to review its own judgement as the Supreme Court does.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

EXPLANATION

Correct Option

Statement 1 is correct.

  • Article 128 of the Indian Constitution provides for the attendance of retired judges at sittings of the Supreme Court.
  • It states that the Chief Justice of India may, with the previous consent of the President, request any person who has held the office of a Judge of the Supreme Court to sit and act as a Judge of the Supreme Court.
  • Such a judge is entitled to allowances as the President may determine and enjoys the jurisdiction, powers, and privileges of a Supreme Court judge, but is not deemed to be a judge of the Supreme Court.

Incorrect Options

Statement 2 is incorrect.

  • Article 137 of the Constitution explicitly grants the Supreme Court the power to review any judgment pronounced or order made by it.
  • While High Courts are Courts of Record under Article 215 and possess inherent powers, including the power to correct their own errors or recall orders in specific circumstances, there is no equivalent explicit constitutional provision granting them a general power to review their own judgments in the same comprehensive manner as the Supreme Court under Article 137.
  • High Courts typically exercise review powers based on statutory provisions (e.g., Order XLVII Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Code) or to rectify patent errors or clerical mistakes, which differs from the broad constitutional power of review held by the Supreme Court.

Therefore, options (b), (c), and (d) are incorrect as they either incorrectly include Statement 2 as correct or exclude Statement 1.

SOURCEIndian Polity by M. Laxmikanth, Chapter 26: Supreme Court, Chapter 27: High Court