Part V
Article 137

Review of judgments or orders by the Supreme Court

Subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament or any rules made under article 145, the Supreme Court shall have power to review any judgment pronounced or order made by it.

Version 1

Article 137, Constitution of India 1950

Subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament or any rules made under article 145, the Supreme Court shall have power to review any judgment pronounced or order made by it.

Summary

Draft Article 112A (Article 137) was not included in the Draft Constitution of India, 1948 . The Chairman of the Drafting Committee moved an amendment to insert the following:

112-A.Review of judgments or orders passed by the Supreme Court. Subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament or any rule made under article 121 of this Constitution, the Supreme Court shall have power to review any judgment pronounced or order passed by it.

Draft Article 112A was debated on 6th June 1949. It allowed the Supreme Court to review its own judgments or orders, subject to certain limitations.

One member argued that since Draft Article 112 (Article 136) conferred the power on the Supreme Court to review any judgment, it was improper for Parliament to have the ability to restrict this power in any way. The Chairman of the Drafting Committee clarified that the review power under Draft Article 112 was also subject to a similar restriction, and therefore it was necessary to impose this limitation on the Supreme Court.

The Draft Article was accepted by the Assembly, and adopted on 6th June 1949.