KHODAY DISTILLERIES LIMITED AND ANR.versusTHE REGISTRAR GENERAL SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

A              KHODA Y DISTILLERIES LIMITED AND ANR.
                                          v.
       THE REGISTRAR GENERAL SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

                               DECEMBER 5, 1995

B      [J.S. VERMA, K. RAMASWAMY, SUJATA V. MANOHAR JJ.]

          Constitution of India, 1950 :

          Articles 32, 136, 137--:Appeals decided by Supreme Court-Review
C Petitions rejected-Subsequently Writ Petition filed to reconsider the judg-
    ment-fle/d, decision of this Court after attaining finality cannot be reopened
    under Article 32.

          After the dismissal of the appeals and also the review petition by this
    court the petitioners filed the present Writ Petition for reconsideration of
D   the earlier decision of this Court. It was submitted by the petitioners that
    the appeals were decided on merits without being heard on merits as such
    violating the principle of natural justice.

          Dismissing the Writ Petition, this Court

E         HELD: The correctness of a decision on merits after it has become
    final cannot be challenged under Article 32 of the Constitution to claim
    reconsideration of the decision. The judgment in Antu/ay case does not
    hold that a decision of this court after attaining finality can be reopened
    under Article 32. Moreover in that case the writ petition under Article 32
    challenging the decision of this Court was dismissed and it was only in an
F
    appeal filed subsequently the relief was granted. The decision in Antulay
    must be confined to its own peculiar facts and the reliance placed on the
    decision in Antulay on the fact of this case is misplaced. [193-A, F, 192-H]

         A.R. Antulay v. Union of India and Ors. etc., [1984] 3 SCR 482
G   explained and distinguished; Krishnaswamy etc. v. Union of India and Ors.,
    [1992] 4 SCC 605 and MIS. Khody Distilleries Limited and Anr. v. State of
    Karnataka and Ors., [1995] 1 SCC 574, referred to.

          ORIGINAL JURISDICTION : Writ Petition (C) No. 803 of 1995.

H          (Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India.)
                                       190
,, ~A Y DISTILLERIF.s LTD. v. R.G. SUPREME COURT OF INDIA (i.S. VER.MA,J.(   191

     G. Ramaswamy, Nagender Naidu, Nanjun Raddy, J.B. Dadachanji                   A
and S. Sukumaran for the Petitioners.

     Ashok Desai, P.P. Rao, P. Mahale and E.G. Sridharan for the
Respondent No. 2.

        S.B. Sanyal, Rangabatalachar and M. Veerappa for the Respondent            B
No 1.

        The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

       J.S. VERMA J. This writ petition is a sequel of Civil Appeal Nos.
4708-4712 of 1989, Mis. Kltoday Distil/e1ies Limited & Anr. v. State of            C
Kamataka ·& Ors., and the connected matters which were dicided on
19.10.1994. That judgment is reported in [1995] 1 SCC 574. After that
decision, Review Petition Nos. 507-511 of 1995 were filed. The order dated
25.4.1995 made in those review petitions is. as under :

               "One of the grounds taken for the prayer made to hear oral          D
          arguments before deciding the review petitions is that there was
          no opportunity to supplement the written submissions filed before
          the Bench of three Judges and that same could not be supple-
          mented before the Constitution Bench. Accordingly, we permit the
          filling of supplementary written submissions, if any, by the parties     E
          mentioning therein and emphasising the additional submissions, if
          any on which reliance is sought to be placed. The supplementary
          written submissions, if any, be filed by the parties within four
          weeks. The prayer made for hearing oral arguments on the review
          petitions would then be considered. The matters he listed in
          Chambers thereafter."
                                                                                   F

      Aft.er the supplementary written submissions had been filed by the
parties, the review petitions were rejected by order dated 8.8.1995 as under:

              "We have perused the grounds on which a review of the order
          is sought. We had by our order dated 25th April, 1995 permitted G
          the filing of supplementary written submission by the parties and
          had stated that should clearly emphasise the additional submis-
          sions, if any, on which reliance is sought to be placed. We had also
          stated that the prayer for hearing oral arguments would then be
          considered. Pursuant to the said order the written submissions H
    192                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1995] SUPP. 6 S.C.R.

A           have been filed and we have perused the same. Having perused
            the same we find that the submissions made therein have all been
            answered in the judgment sought to be reviewed. We have not
            noticed any submission on which we would like to hear oral
            arguments by counsel. Since we do not find and merit in the
            additional supplementary submissions filed in these proceedings
B
            we do not entertain the Review Petitions and reject them.''

           The present writ petition under Article 32 has been filed by the
    petitioners after the rejection of their review petitions as above.

C          The submissions of Shri G. Ramaswamy, learned counsel for the
    petitioners are two : (1) The above civil appeals were listed before the
    Constitution Bench only for directions and were not heard on merits before
    they were decided on merits; and (2) The judgment rendered in the civil
    appeals reported in Khoday Distille1ies Ltd. and Others v. State of Kamataka
D   and Others, [1995] 1 sec 574, is invalid on the ground of violation of
    principles of natural justice. Reliance is placed on the decision in A.R.
    Antulay v. R.S. Nuyak & Anr., [1988] Supp. 1 SCR 1, in support of these
    submissions. In substance, the argument of learned counsel for the
    petitioners is that the civil appeals having been decided on merits without
    being heard on merits, the judgment rendered is invalid for violation of
E   principles of natural justice. In our opinion, there is no merit in this
    submission.

         The foundation for the argument advanced in support of the writ
  petition does not exist. The above-quoted orders dated 25.4.1995 and
F 8.8.1995 clearly show that even after the decision of the Civil appeals, the
  petitioners were permitted to file supplementary written submission, if any,
  emphasising the additional submissions, if any, which reliance was sought
  to be placed on the merits; and the supplementary written submissions
  filed by the parties were also considered while deciding the review peti-
  tions. In the order rejecting the review petitions, it was clearly mentioned
G that all the submissions made by the parties had been answered in the
  judgment sought to be reviewed. The decision in Antulay (supra) has no
  application. The attempt made by this writ petition for reconsideration of
  the decision by the Constitution Bench in Klioday Distilleries (supra) has
  no merit and reliance placed on the decision inAntulay (supra) on the facts
H of this case is misplaced.
   KHODAY DISTILLERIES LTD. '· RO. SUPREME COURT OF INDIA (J.S. VERMA, J.)   193

       In view of the strong reliance placed by learned counsel for the            A
petitioners on the decision in A11tU/ay (supra) to invoke Article 32 of the
Constitution for reconsideration of the aforesaid judgment deciding the
civil appeals, we consider it appropriate to indicate that Antulay does not
hold that a decision of this Court after attaining finality can be reopened
under Article 32. The decision in Antulay must be confined to the peculiar
                                                                                   B
circumstances of that case as indicated in that judgment itself. The decision
in Antulay was distinguished and confined to the facts of that case by a
Constitution Bench in Krishnaswami etc. v. Union of India and Others,
[1992] 4 sec 605, as under :

              "........ A11tulay case is also distinguishable for the reason that C
        therein the result of the earlier decision against him challenged by
        Antulay in the petition under Article 32 had the effect of conferring
        jurisdiction on a court contrary to the specific statutory provision
        ...... Moreover, judgment of Mishra, J. as well as that of Mukharji,
        J. as their Lordships were then, give a clear indication that the D
        decision therein was not intended to be a precedent and was
        confined to the peculiar facts and circumstances of that case. This
        distinction is sufficient to hold that Antulay does not permit these
        petitioners to claim reconsideration of the earlier decision in these
        circumstances."
                                                                                   E
       It is clear that the decision in A11tulay is based on the peculiar facts
of that case wherein the question involved was of the conferment of
jurisdiction on a court contrary to the specific statutory provision. In a case
like the present, where in substance the challenge is to the correctness of
a decision on merits after it has become final, there can be no question of        F
invoking Article 32 of the Constitution to claim reconsideration of the
decision on the basis of its effect in accordance with law. Frequent resort
to the decision in Antulay in such situations is wholly misconceived and
impels us to emphasise this fact.

       Moreover, it may also be observed that even in Antulay, the writ G
petition under Article 32 filed by him to challenge the decision of this
Court was dismissed and it was. only in an appeal filed subsequently by
Antulay against an order of the Bombay High Court made during the trial
that the relief was granted to Antulay. While dismissing the writ petition
under Article 32 of the Constitution filed by Antulay, in the judgment H
    194                  SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1995] SUPP. 6 S.C.R.

A   reported in [1984] 3 SCR 482 - Abdul Rehman Antulay v. Union of India
    and Ors. Etc. - this Court observed as under :

            "In my view, the writ petition challenging the validity of the order
            and judgment passed by this Court as nullity or otherwise incorrect
            cannot be entertained. I wish to make it clear that the dismissal of
B           this writ petition will not prejudice the right of the petitioner, to
            approach the Courl with an appropriate review petition or to file
            any other application which he may be entitled in law to file."

         These undisputed facts appear from the decision in Antulay itself on
    which reliance has been placed by learned counsel for the petitioners.
c
          Consequently, the writ petition has no merit and it is dismissed,
    accordingly.

    P.C.                                                     Petition dismissed.