Law must be laid down against courts recalling orders without hearing parties or giving reasons, says SC

A scene at Supreme Court.
| Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (January 8, 2024) said courts recalling their orders without first hearing parties involved or giving reasons for the retraction will dent the public’s faith in the judicial institution.

Justice A.S. Oka, heading a Bench comprising Justice N. Kotiswar Singh, stated that judges could very well rescind their orders if they find that “there is something amiss”, but the “law must be laid down” that they must first list the case and hear the parties on the question of recall. “You just cannot recall your orders without hearing the parties. And you must provide reasons for deciding to go back on an order,” Justice Oka said.

The Bench was hearing a petition filed by retired Director General of Police M.S. Jaffar Sait, represented by senior advocate Sidharth Luthra and advocate Ram Sankar. Mr. Sait complained that the Madras High Court had allowed his petition to quash a money laundering case against him on August 21, 2024. However, his petition was listed again for “re-hearing” on August 23, 2024.

“Though the order was pronounced on August 21, the matter gets listed on August 23,” Mr. Luthra submitted.

“This cannot be countenanced at all… Today, you simply allow a petition without hearing and no reasons are recorded. The next day, the matter is fixed for re-hearing…” Justice Oka reacted.

The court fixed the case for a detailed hearing on January 22.

The retired police chief had approached the High Court to quash the Enforcement Case Information Report accusing him of money laundering in connection with plot allotments. He argued that the charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cannot stand on their own when the chargesheet for predicate offences had already been quashed by the High Court in 2019.