IMPORTANT POINTS
Review application is not to be lightly entertained.
Review is not an appeal in disguise.
For reviewing an order there has to be an error apparent on the face of the record leading to miscarriage of justice.

JUDGMENT

ASHOK BHUSHAN J.

The petitioner by this review petition filed under Article 137 of the Constitution of India prays to review the final judgment dated 05.05.2017 passed by this Court by which Criminal Appeal No. 607 of 2017 has been dismissed. The horrific incident which took place on 16.12.2012 in Delhi wherein a young lady of twenty three years (Nirbhaya, a changed name) was gang raped and brutally injured who subsequently died, in which the petitioner was one of the accused. The petitioner was convicted and awarded death sentence by Additional Sessions Judge (Special Fast Track Court) Saket Court Complex New Delhi. Delhi High Court confirmed the death reference and dismissed the criminal appeal filed by the petitioner challenging his conviction and sentence.

2. Aggrieved against the judgment of the Delhi High Court dated 13.03.2014, Criminal Appeal No. 607 of 2017 was filed by the petitioner which appeal was dismissed by this Court on 05.05.2017. Now, this application is filed to review the judgment dated 05.05.2017 dismissing the Criminal Appeal of the petitioner.

3. Before we enter into the submissions raised in this review petition, it is useful to recapitulate the scope and grounds available for exercise of jurisdiction by this Court under Article 137. Order XLVII Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 dealing with review is as follows:

“i. The Court may review its judgment or order, but no application for review will be entertained in a civil proceeding except on the ground mentioned in Order XLVII, rule 1 of the Code, and in a criminal proceeding except on the ground of an error apparent on the face of the record.”

4. In various decisions, this Court has already settled the law with regards to the maintainability of review petition under Article 137 of the Constitution of India read with Order XL Rule 1 of Supreme Court Rules, 1966 in criminal appeals. Before we consider the points raised by the accused, we may usefully refer to some of the decisions.

5. The power of review of the Supreme Court as envisaged under Article 137 of the Constitution is no doubt wider than review jurisdiction conferred by other statutes on the Court. Article 137 empowers the Supreme Court to review any judgment pronounced or made, subject, of course, to the provisions of any law made by Parliament or any rule made under Article 145 of the Constitution.

6. An application to review a judgment is not to be lightly entertained and this Court could exercise its review jurisdiction only when grounds are made out as provided in Order XLVII Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 framed under Article 145 of the Constitution of India. This Court in Sow Chandra Kante and another v. Sheikh Habib, (1975) 1 SCC 674 speaking through Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer on review has stated the following in para 10:

“10. A review of a judgment is a serious step and reluctant resort to it is proper only where a glaring omission or patent mistake or like grave error has crept in earlier by judicial fallibility. A mere repetition, through different counsel, of old and overruled arguments, a second trip over ineffectually covered ground or minor mistakes of inconsequential import are obviously insufficient.”

7. As per rule, review in a criminal proceeding is permissible only on the ground of error apparent on the face of the record. This Court in P.N. Eswara Iyer and others v. Registrar, Supreme Court of India, (1980) 4 SCC 680 while examining the review jurisdiction of this Court vis a vis criminal and civil proceedings had made the following observations in paras 34 and 35:

“34. The rule, on its face, affords a wider set of grounds for review for orders in civil proceedings, but limits the ground vis-a-vis criminal proceedings to “errors apparent on the face of the record”. If at all, the concern of the law to avoid judicial error should be heightened when life or liberty is in peril since civil penalties are often less traumatic. So, it is reasonable to assume that the