IS THERE A WAY TO ENSURE JUSTICE AT ALL COSTS?
Once the Supreme Court reaches a verdict, it is considered final and binding and both parties have to accept it whether they are satisfied with the same or not. However, very recently, an issue was raised as to whether an aggrieved individual/party is entitled to receive any kind of relief or remuneration from the State against the order of the Apex Court after it has dismissed the request for the case being dismissed. This issue was raised and highlighted so that a party is guaranteed the justice that has been promised in the Constitution of India. After receiving a mixed bag of reviews and acclamations, the issue was put into effect and the process that a party had to undergo to benefit from the same is what is called a curative petition.
WHAT IS THE PHILOSOPHY OF CURATIVE PETITIONS?
- The primary objective behind allowing curative petitions was to minimize the abuse of law and order, cure lapses in the system of justice, and uphold the mandate of the Indian Constitution.
- They are the last option for getting remunerated for your grievances as per the IPC.
- Hearing for curative petitions are done in-chambers and in the courthouse in the rarest of cases.
- Curative petitions do not apply if you wish to seek bail from the Supreme Court. The same can be done only through the means of a Special Leave Petition.
WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW BEFORE FILING A CURATIVE PETITION?
- The petitioner needs to prove factually that the verdict of the Supreme Court is completely opposite to that of natural justice and also that the judgment affected him/her in a manner capable of being highlighted.
- The petition should state explicitly that the grounds stated for the previously dismissed Review Petition were dismissed by pure circulation.
- The petition must be certified by a senior and supreme court lawyers delhi.
- The petition needs to be sent to a panel of 3 most senior judges.
- If the senior judges conclude that the matter needs further hearing and investigation (on the basis of majority), then the same is sent to the original bench of judges that presided over the hearing.
- The Supreme Court reserves the right to impose charges on the petitioner if his case lacks merit as a punishment for disturbing valuable court time.
WHY ARE CURATIVE PETITIONS NOT DISCUSSED IN OPEN COURT?
The judges of the Supreme Court are not sitting there just like that. They are where they are with a sheer number of years of experience with them and can almost instantly make out all the details of the case well before the closing statements have been delivered. Based on the facts presented before them, their decision is 9 times out of 10 the correct one and so the chances of getting a curative petition are very slim simply because it is just not pragmatic to believe that the party can come up with something of significance (especially in cases such as anticipatory bill from the Supreme Court) in such a small amount of time and so are rejected in the text of the petition itself. If in the event that the judge believes that something of value is viable to come up, he is likely to grant the curative petition. However, at the same time, the bench is likely to exercise the transfer petition in supreme court and have the case tried somewhere else before coming back to it themselves.
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