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Vimal Babu Dhumadiya & Ors. v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors.

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2025 INSC 77Decided 17 Jan 2025
Writ Petition (Civil) [Diary No. 1995/2025]
Justice Vikram Nath · Justice Sanjay Karol · Justice Sandeep Mehta

Background

The petitioners, apartment owners, filed a writ petition directly in the Supreme Court under Article 32 challenging a Bombay High Court judgment that they claimed had been passed without hearing them, a judgment which apparently affected their apartments (built on land alleged to encroach upon government property). Their earlier Special Leave Petition against that same High Court judgment had already been dismissed by the Supreme Court, and a related application to modify the High Court's judgment had also been rejected by the High Court itself.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that, under Article 32, it cannot simply declare a High Court's judgment "illegal": Article 32 exists to enforce fundamental rights, not to function as a substitute appeal against another court's judgment. If the petitioners genuinely were not heard and are adversely affected, their proper remedy is to apply to the same High Court for recall of its judgment, or to challenge it through a regular appeal (Article 136) before the Supreme Court. Since neither of those correct procedural routes had been used, the writ petition was dismissed, though the petitioners were left free to pursue whichever of those proper remedies remained available to them.

Lesson Learnt

A Supreme Court writ petition under Article 32 is not a way to reopen or overturn a High Court judgment you disagree with. If you were not given a fair hearing by a court, the remedy is to ask that same court to recall its order or to file a proper appeal, not to file a fresh writ petition.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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