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SUPREME COURT: ORDER REJECTING REVIEW NOT APPEALABLE – ONLY ORIGINAL DECREE/ORDER CAN BE CHALLENGED
New Delhi, [Date] – A Bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice K.V. Viswanathan of the Hon’ble Supreme Court has clarified a vital point of appellate procedure in Sateesh V.K. v. The Federal Bank Ltd.
Two Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) were before the Court:
- One SLP challenged the rejection of a review petition filed before the High Court.
- The second SLP was directed against the original High Court order, which had earlier been challenged but was unconditionally withdrawn without liberty to re-file.
The judgment authored by Justice Dipankar Datta dismissed both SLPs:
- The first SLP was held not maintainable since an order rejecting a review is not independently appealable. Such rejection merely affirms the original decree/order, without any merger or modification.
- The second SLP was held barred because it was re-filed after the petitioner had earlier withdrawn an SLP against the same High Court order without obtaining leave to re-file.
Key Legal Principles Reaffirmed
- No Appeal Against Review Rejection: Only the original decree or order can be appealed; a review rejection cannot be challenged independently.
- Doctrine of Merger Inapplicable: Rejection of review does not merge with or alter the original order.
- Procedural Discipline: Once an SLP is withdrawn unconditionally, a fresh SLP against the same order is not maintainable.
Commenting on the significance of this ruling, Hon’ble Dr. Anthony Raju, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Chairman, All India Council of Human Rights, Liberties & Social Justice (AICHLS), said:
“This is a landmark ruling that will serve as a guiding light for both litigants and practitioners. The Court has underscored that remedies must be pursued with precision. A rejected review is only a reaffirmation of the original order, and the law does not permit multiplying proceedings through fresh challenges. Procedural caution and strategic legal foresight are critical to safeguarding justice.”
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