A Curative Petition is the final judicial remedy available in the Indian legal system after the dismissal of a review petition by the Supreme Court. It was evolved by the Supreme Court in the landmark case of Rupa Ashok Hurra v. Ashok Hurra[1]to prevent miscarriage of justice and to correct gross errors in its judgments.
The concept is not expressly mentioned in the Constitution or any statute but derives its authority from Article 142 of the Constitution which provide plenary powers of the Supreme Court to do complete justice and deal with the inherent powers of the Court. A curative petition can be filed only when a review petition has already been dismissed.
A curative petition is maintainable only on very narrow grounds:
- Violation of principles of natural justice.
- The judge who decided the case had a conflict of interest that was not disclosed.
- Abuse of the court’s process leading to gross miscarriage of justice.
A curative petition is first circulated to the three senior-most judges and the judges who delivered the impugned judgment. If the majority concludes that the matter requires reconsideration, it is listed for hearing before the same Bench, as far as possible. It must be filed by a Senior Advocate certifying that the grounds are made out. The curative petition acts as a constitutional safety valve — an extraordinary remedy of last resort to correct apparent errors of grave consequence, while ensuring finality of judicial decisions is not routinely disturbed.
[1] (2002) 4 SCC 388