Mr. Rajeev Nohwar v. Chief Controlling Revenue Authority, Maharashtra State, Pune & Ors.
Background
The Supreme Court had earlier decided a stamp-duty related matter between the same parties by a judgment dated 24 September 2021. Paragraph 32 of that judgment mistakenly referred to the "Collector of Stamps, Mumbai" instead of the correct authority, the "Collector of Stamps, Pune, Rural." The appellant filed a Miscellaneous Application seeking clarification and correction of this clerical error.
Decision Breakdown
The Court agreed that the earlier judgment contained a clerical error in naming the competent stamp authority. It directed that the expression "Collector of Stamps, Mumbai" in paragraph 32 of the 24 September 2021 judgment be substituted with "Collector of Stamps, Pune, Rural," and that the order stand corrected accordingly. The Miscellaneous Application was disposed of in these terms.
Lesson Learnt
Courts can and do correct clerical or typographical errors in their own judgments through a simple miscellaneous application, without the need for a fresh appeal: a useful route for litigants who spot an evident factual slip in an otherwise final order.