Regarding the 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 the prior permission of the President of India.

2. A High Court in India has the power to review its judgment as the Supreme Court does.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

UPSC Civil Services Exam (Prelims) General Studies Official Paper-I (Held On: 10 Oct 2021)

Answer 1

The correct answer is Option 1

Key Points

As per Article 128 of the Constitution of India:
- The Chief Justice of India (CJI) can, with the prior consent of the President, request a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a retired High Court judge (qualified to be a Supreme Court judge) to sit and act as a judge of the Supreme Court.
- This arrangement is typically used to handle specific cases or manage judicial workload but only occurs with the consent of the retired judge involved.Hence, Statement 1 is correct.
Review Powers of High Courts:
- While the High Court has limited powers to review its judgments, these are not as broad or constitutionally grounded as the Supreme Court’s review powers.Hence, Statement 2 is incorrect.

Additional Information

Key Differences:
- Although High Courts also have inherent powers to review their own judgments, this is not exactly the same as the Supreme Court's powers. High Courts’ review powers are much more limited in scope.
- Review of a judgment in a High Court is typically governed by Section 114 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) and Order 47, which allows for review under specific circumstances such as discovery of new and important evidence or an apparent error on the face of the record. However, it applies primarily to civil cases, not criminal or constitutional matters.
- Constitutional Judgment: The Supreme Court’s review powers include constitutional, criminal, and civil cases, whereas High Courts generally review under specific conditions in civil matters only.
- Finality: The Supreme Court’s judgments are treated as final, and its review power is a constitutional safeguard, but a High Court judgment can still be appealed to the Supreme Court, limiting its finality.
- Natur e of Judgments: The High Court’s review scope is more procedural (to correct errors or new evidence), whereas the Supreme Court’s review power extends across a wider range of matters, including constitutional interpretations.