P.S. Patel vs State Bank of Saurashtra
Background
The petitioner's Special Civil Application No. 9396 of 1997 was dismissed by a single judge of the High Court, and that dismissal was upheld by the Division Bench. The petitioner's Special Leave Petition challenging the Division Bench's order was earlier dismissed by the Supreme Court, affirming the view taken by both courts below. The petitioner then filed this review petition, with a delay of 44 days, seeking reconsideration of that dismissal.
Decision Breakdown
The Court first condoned the 44-day delay in filing the review petition. On merits, it held that the grounds raised in the review petition did not disclose any "error apparent on the face of the record": the narrow standard required to reopen a final order in review jurisdiction. Finding no such error, the Court dismissed the review petition and let the earlier dismissal of the special leave petition stand.
Lesson Learnt
A review petition is not a second appeal. It succeeds only if there is a glaring, self-evident error on the face of the record, not merely because a party remains dissatisfied with a decision that has already been through original proceedings, an appeal, and a Supreme Court dismissal.