REVISION PETITION
A Revision Petition is an application made to a High Court to correct the mistakes made by the Courts subordinate to it. The High Court of a State has power to supervise the works of the subordinate court under its Jurisdiction. The High Court has power to oversee, correct and improve if the sub-court has committed any illegality, irregularity, capriciously, has acted arbitrary, or has committed some error in procedure. For Example: Madras High Court has power to supervise all courts which are under its Jurisdiction. Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 explains when the High Courts can exercise this power. (herein referred as ‘CPC’).
Thus, the HC revises the order made by the subordinate court if the court has made a jurisdictional error. This article is mainly for how an RP should be drafted and not what is an RP.
A suit is filed in a small cause court and its pecuniary limit of the Small Cause Court is Rs.10,000. The money in dispute is Rs. 5000. Under section 96(4) no appeal will lie from a decree of the Small Cause Court if the value of the subject doesn’t exceed Rs. 10,000 unless it is based on a question of law. Therefore, in this case, an appeal cannot lie in the High Court or any court subordinate to it. But, if the prerequisite conditions under section 115 are fulfilled then a Revision Petition can lie in the High Court. Thus, if an appeal does not lie, and the matter pertains to a question of fact and not question of law and such question is relating to the failure in exercising the jurisdiction or in exercising the jurisdiction not vested or the court had acted with illegality or with material irregularity then a Revision Petition may lie in the High Court.
When can you file a Revision Petition?
1. The impugned order amounts to a case decided.
2. The case has been decided by a court subordinate to the High Court. (a court can pass a number of orders in a suit and such order need not be the final one.)
3. No appeal must be filed against the suit in the High Court or any other court which is subordinate to the High Court.
4. The subordinate court appears to have:
- Exercised jurisdiction not vested in it by law;
- Failed to exercise jurisdiction vested;
- To have acted in the exercise of the Judge illegally or material irregularity.
Where should you file a Revision Petition?
Revisionary power can only be enforced by the High Court of the State. It comes under the Appellate Jurisdiction of the High Court. It is almost similar to the power of courts under Article 226 and 227 of the High Court, but the writ jurisdiction powers are much wider.