Supreme Court Rules, 2013- A Need to Revise

Abstract

The Supreme Court Rules, 2013 have been framed under the powers vested in the Hon’ble Court under Article 145 of the Constitution of India and come in force with the approval of the Hon’ble President of India. This Article attempts to show that some of the Rules and the Practices in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India are not aligned with the Constitution of India. Illustratively a) Summary Determinations in Appeals b) Review Jurisdiction – Procedures [Motion for Reconsideration in US, UK etc.] A suggestion for revision of the rules is being made in this article so as to align them with the Constitutional principles including promoting Justice – Preamble and Article 38 of the Constitution. The current Review Jurisdiction, at a conceptual level, is focused on finality of a Judgment and not on delivery of Justice. This is reflected by the Explanation inserted in Order XLVIII Rule 1 in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. This explanation is included in the Supreme Court Rules 2013 by virtue of Order XLVIII Rule 1 of these rules. This piece is being written as part of the Fundamental Duty of this Citizen – Article 51A: Clauses (a), (j) and (h).