The Supreme Court's power to review any judgment pronounced or order made by it is provided in:

Article 137 provides that, subject to any law made by Parliament and rules made under Article 145, the Supreme Court has the power to review any judgment pronounced or order made by it.

Why review power is needed:

• Even the highest court can make mistakes.
• Review allows the Court to correct an error apparent on the face of the record or to take into account new evidence that could not be produced earlier.

Grounds for review:

According to the Supreme Court Rules, a review petition in civil cases may be filed on the grounds mentioned in the Code of Civil Procedure: discovery of new and important evidence, a mistake or error apparent on the face of the record, or any other sufficient reason.

In criminal cases, review is allowed only on the ground of an error apparent on the face of the record.

Procedure:

• A review petition must normally be filed within 30 days of the judgment.
• It is usually heard by the same bench that delivered the judgment, in chambers, without oral arguments.

Curative petition:

• If a review petition is dismissed, a person can file a curative petition in rare cases.
• The Supreme Court created this remedy in the Rupa Ashok Hurra case (2002) to prevent abuse of process and to cure gross miscarriage of justice.
• A curative petition must be certified by a senior advocate and is heard by the three senior-most judges and the judges who decided the case.

Other powers of the Supreme Court:

• Article 131: disputes between the Centre and the states.
• Article 136: special leave to appeal against any judgment of any court or tribunal.
• Article 143: advisory jurisdiction on questions referred by the President.
• Article 142: power to pass any order needed to do complete justice.
• Good to know
• Articles 131, 136 and 143 deal with other powers, as listed above.