Supreme Court to Establish Legal Framework on High Court’s Authority to Revoke Pronounced Orders and Rehear Cases.
On October 4, the Supreme Court indicated it will clarify whether a High Court can revoke an order it has previously issued and subsequently rehear the case. This comes after a bench, led by Justices Abhay Oka and Augustine George Masih, expressed strong disapproval of the Madras High Court’s decision to revisit a quashing petition related to a money laundering case involving former Director General of Police (DGP) Jaffar Sait, despite having allowed the petition initially.
Key Points:
- Clarification of Authority: The Supreme Court intends to define the legal boundaries regarding a High Court’s ability to retract an already pronounced order.
- Objections Raised: The Directorate of Enforcement opposed the Supreme Court’s suggestion to resolve the quashing petition based on its merits.
- Anticipated Reactions: Justice Oka noted that the Court expected the respondent to take a position that would allow for a resolution without further proceedings.
- Criminal OP Filed: The Criminal OP aimed to quash the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), raising multiple issues regarding the High Court’s decision-making process.
- Scheduled Hearing: The case will be revisited at the end of the cause list on November 22, 2024, with all actions related to the ECIR and the Criminal OP currently stayed.
- Legal Principles in Question: Justice Oka emphasized the need to address the broader legal issue of how orders are issued and their implications.
- Registry Report Findings: According to a report from the High Court registry, the HC had earlier ruled to quash the case but later retracted that ruling for further hearings.
- Predicate Offense Context: The Court noted that since the underlying predicate offense was resolved, the money laundering case should similarly be dismissed.
- Opposition from Counsel: Advocate Zoheb Hossain argued that the predicate offense against I. Periasami, a former Housing Minister, remains active.
- Request for Legal Precedents: Justice Oka highlighted the lack of direct Supreme Court rulings on this issue and requested the parties to present relevant High Court judgments.
- Recall of Orders: Hossain pointed out that the Supreme Court has previously stated that an unfinalized order can be recalled without a party’s request.
- Hearing Requirements: Justice Oka questioned whether parties should be consulted before recalling an order, noting that in this case, the parties were not given the opportunity to be heard before the earlier ruling was revoked.
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