2026 Supreme(Online)(Ker) 33407

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
Viju Abraham, J
G. Nandakumar – Appellant
Versus
State Of Kerala – Respondent
RP NO. 421 OF 2026

A court may exercise its review jurisdiction to recall a previous order or judgment when it is demonstrated that the relief sought in the main proceedings has already been granted, rendering the previous adjudication based on a factual omission.

Headnote:The review petition was filed seeking a recall of the previous judgment dated 05.03.2026 in a writ petition. The petitioners submitted that during the pendency of the original proceedings, the primary reliefs sought had been granted, an fact that was inadvertently not brought to the court's attention earlier. The court observed that given the status of the reliefs, the petitioners requested to withdraw the original writ petition. The central issue was whether the judgment could be reviewed when the underlying cause of action or relief had been satisfied outside of court proceedings. The court reasoned that in light of the subsequent developments where approvals were granted, the previous judgment was rendered unnecessary and erroneous due to the omission of these facts. Ratio decidendi rests on the court's power to recall a judgment to correct inadvertent errors when the subject matter of the dispute has been resolved. The court recalled the judgment dated 05.03.2026, restored the writ petition to the file, and allowed the review petition.