Axis Bank Limited vs. Naren Sheth & Anr.
Background
This was a Miscellaneous Application filed by Axis Bank Limited seeking clarification of the Supreme Court's own earlier judgment dated 12.09.2023 in Civil Appeal No. 2085 of 2022. The bank pointed out that paragraph 20 of that judgment had referred to it as an "unsecured creditor" when the correct classification, on the facts of the case, was "secured creditor."
Decision Breakdown
After condoning delay in filing the application and hearing counsel for both sides, the Supreme Court agreed with the bank's submission and ordered that the word "unsecured creditor" in paragraph 20 of the earlier judgment be corrected to read "secured creditor." The Court clarified that the original judgment was corrected only to this limited extent, and disposed of the miscellaneous application accordingly.
Lesson Learnt
Even a final Supreme Court judgment can be corrected through a miscellaneous application if it contains a factual or clerical error (such as misclassifying a party's legal status): parties are not without recourse when a judgment's wording does not match the underlying facts of the case.