The Hon’ble Supreme Court has upheld that judgement of 5-judge Bench in the matter titled as Union Bank of India v. Dinkar T. Venkatasubramanian & Ors in which it was held that the Tribunal does not have the power to review but it does have the power to recall its judgement as this is inherent in the Tribunal under Rule 11 of the NCLAT Rules, 20116.
It was also held that the power to recall a judgement can be exercised by the Tribunal when any procedural error is committed. Some examples of grounds for recalling a judgement are the necessary party not being served, or not before the Tribunal when the judgement was delivered. Another important ground for recalling a judgement is the ground of fraud played on the Court in obtaining a judgement from the Court.
Regarding the law laid down in the judgements titled as “Agarwal Coal Corporation Pvt. Ltd. V. Sun Paper Mil Limited & Anr.” and “Rajendra Mulchand Varma & Ors. V. K.L.J Resources Ltd. & Anr.”, the Bench opined that the judgements to the extent of power to recall do not lay down a correct law as the power to recall is an inherent power of the tribunal.
Brief Facts:
A civil appeal was preferred against the judgement of the NCLAT passed by a 5-judge Bench in the matter titled as Union Bank of India v. Dinkar T. Venkatasubramanian & Ors.
Brief Background:
The following issues were referred vide order dated 09.02.2023 for the Tribunal to adjudicate:
1. Whether Tribunal has the power to recall the judgement on sufficient ground?
2. Correctness of law laid down in the cases of “Agarwal Coal Corporation Pvt. Ltd. V. Sun Paper Mil Limited & Anr.” And “Rajendra Mulchand Varma & Ors. V. K.L.J Resources Ltd. & Anr.” Both these judgements held that the Tribunal cannot recall its judgement.
It was firstly observed Rule 11 of the NCLAT Rules, 2016 is similar to Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Further, the inherent powers of the Court and the Tribunals are the powers which are not conferred to it but those powers are inherent in the Courts and Tribunals by strength of duty to do justice to parties before it.
After examining several judicial precedents, the Tribunal observed that there is a distinction between review and recall. It was opined that the Tribunal does not have the power to review but it does have the power to recall its judgement as this is inherent in the Tribunal under Rule 11 of the NCLAT Rules, 20116.
It was also held that the power to recall a judgement can be exercised by the Tribunal when any procedural error is committed. Some examples of grounds for recalling a judgement are the necessary party not being served, or not before the Tribunal when the judgement was delivered. Another important ground for recalling a judgement is the ground of fraud played on the Court in obtaining a judgement from the Court.
Regarding the law laid down in the judgements titled as “Agarwal Coal Corporation Pvt. Ltd. V. Sun Paper Mil Limited & Anr.” and “Rajendra Mulchand Varma & Ors. V. K.L.J Resources Ltd. & Anr.”, the Bench opined that the judgements to the extent of power to recall do not lay down a correct law as the power to recall is an inherent power of the tribunal.
The decision of the Court:
The Hon’ble Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal.
Case Title: Union Bank Of India v. Financial Creditors Of M/S Amtek Auto Limited & Ors.
Case No.: Civil Appeal No. 4620/2023
Coram: Hon’ble Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Hon’ble Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia
Advocates for Appellant: Advs. Mr. Gopal Jain, Mr. Alok Kumar, Ms. Deepti Bhardwaj, Mr. Kunal Arora, Mr. Raghwi Rawat, Mr. Ayush Singhal
Advocates for Respondent: Advs. Mr. N. Venkataraman,Mr. Sanjay Kapur, Surya Prakash,Mr. Arjun Bhatia, Mr. Rabin Majumder, Mr. Sumant Batra,Mr. Sanjay Bhatt, Ms. Ruchi Goyal
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