Legal Glossary · Court Procedure
Review Petition: Meaning, Explained Simply (2026)
A review petition is a request to the same court that passed a judgment or order to look at it again and correct a clear error, instead of going to a higher court. It is allowed only on narrow grounds, such as an error apparent on the face of the record or important new evidence. Last verified October 2026. This guide explains what a review petition means, when you can file one, the grounds the courts accept, the time limit, and how review is different from an appeal, a revision and a curative petition.
- What it is: a request to the same court to re-examine and correct a clear error in its own order.
- Main grounds: error apparent on the face of the record, new and important evidence, or other sufficient reason.
- Source: Article 137 of the Constitution for the Supreme Court; Section 114 and Order XLVII CPC for civil courts.
- Time limit: about 30 days for a Supreme Court review; the Limitation Act, 1963 sets the civil-court period.
- Not an appeal: it cannot re-argue the merits; that is for an appeal, revision or, as a last resort, a curative petition.
01What a review petition is
A review petition is a request to the same court that passed a judgment or order to look at it again and correct a clear mistake. You are not asking a higher court to hear the matter afresh. You are asking the court that already decided to re-examine its own decision on limited grounds.
The idea is simple. Courts are human, and a judgment can carry an obvious error. Review lets the court fix that error itself, quickly, without the parties having to climb to a higher forum. But because finality matters, the door is kept narrow. A review is not a chance to re-argue the whole case or to say the judge was simply wrong on the merits.
Review is the same court correcting a clear error in its own order. It is not a second hearing on the merits and it is not an appeal.
02When review applies
The power to review has a clear source for each kind of court.
- Supreme Court: Article 137 of the Constitution gives the Supreme Court power to review its own judgments and orders, subject to the rules it makes. The procedure is in the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 (Order XLVII).
- Civil courts and High Courts (civil side): Section 114 and Order XLVII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 allow a party to apply for review of a decree or order.
- Criminal matters: A criminal court generally cannot alter its own final judgment except to correct a clerical or arithmetical error. This limit continues under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), in force from 1 July 2024. The section numbering under BNSS is new, so confirm it against the bare Act before relying on it.
So review is available in civil and constitutional matters on set grounds, but it is very restricted on the criminal side.
03Grounds for a review petition
The grounds are narrow and the courts read them strictly. The main grounds under Order XLVII of the CPC, and followed in spirit by the Supreme Court, are:
- Error apparent on the face of the record: a mistake so clear that you can see it without a long argument. A point that needs detailed reasoning to prove it wrong is not an error apparent on the face of the record.
- Discovery of new and important evidence: evidence that you could not produce earlier even after due diligence, and that could change the result.
- Any other sufficient reason: read narrowly by the courts, and usually taken to mean a reason similar in kind to the first two.
A short Indian example. Suppose a court decides a property suit and, while writing the judgment, relies on a sale deed dated 2015 but by mistake records the area of the plot as 500 square yards when the deed on record clearly says 5,000 square yards, and the whole finding turns on that figure. That is the kind of clear, self-evident slip a review can correct. But if a party simply feels the court weighed the evidence wrongly, that is a matter for appeal, not review.
Review is not a second appeal in disguise
Courts repeatedly warn that a review cannot be used to re-hear the case, to raise new arguments that were available earlier, or to correct an error of judgment on the merits. Those belong to an appeal or revision before the proper forum.
04Time limit and procedure
Timing matters. A review has to be filed quickly.
- Supreme Court: a review petition is normally filed within 30 days of the judgment or order. It is usually heard by the same bench, by circulation of papers (that is, without oral hearing), except in death-sentence matters where an oral hearing is allowed.
- Civil courts and High Courts: the limitation period for a review application is set by the Limitation Act, 1963. Check the exact article, because it differs for decrees of different courts.
If you are late, you must first ask the court to excuse the delay. For how that works, see our guide on condonation of delay. A review is usually placed before the same judge or bench that passed the order, because the point is to let that court correct its own mistake. This page is general information and not legal advice.
05Review vs appeal vs revision vs curative petition
These four are often mixed up. They are different tools before different forums.
| Tool | Who hears it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Review | The same court that passed the order | Corrects a clear error, new evidence, or other sufficient reason |
| Appeal | A higher court | A fresh examination of the facts and the law of the case |
| Revision | A higher court (limited) | Checks jurisdiction and serious legal error, not the full merits |
| Curative petition | The Supreme Court (last resort) | A rare remedy after a review is dismissed, to prevent gross injustice |
The curative petition came from the Supreme Court decision in Rupa Ashok Hurra and is the final window after a review has failed. It is granted very rarely. For a side-by-side on the civil-side remedies, see order vs judgment vs decree, which explains what can be appealed in the first place.
06Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
The hard part of a review petition is showing the court real examples of what counts as an "error apparent on the face of the record" and what does not. A reader who wants to see how courts have actually used the term can search Claw and read the judgments for themselves. Claw covers 9,102 courts, benches and forums and 30 crore+ judgments (Supreme Court from 1950 and High Courts from 1990), and its Legal GPT returns results in under 5 seconds. You can create a FREE Claw account to run a search. Claw does not train on customer documents. It does not replace an advocate who will decide whether a review is the right remedy for your matter.
07Sources and further reading
Check the current text before relying on it:
- India Code (Code of Civil Procedure, 1908; Limitation Act, 1963; BNSS, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
- Supreme Court of India (rules and judgments): sci.gov.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This page is general information, last verified October 2026, and is not legal advice. Grounds, time limits and procedure differ by court, so confirm the current rules and section numbers before you file.
08Frequently asked questions
What is a review petition?
A review petition is a request to the same court that passed a judgment or order to look at it again and correct a clear mistake, instead of going to a higher court. It is allowed only on narrow grounds such as an error apparent on the face of the record or important new evidence.
What are the grounds for a review petition?
The main grounds are an error apparent on the face of the record, the discovery of new and important evidence that could not be produced earlier, and any other sufficient reason, which the courts read narrowly.
What is the time limit to file a review in the Supreme Court?
A review petition in the Supreme Court is normally filed within 30 days of the judgment or order, and it is usually decided by circulation before the same bench. Confirm the current rule under the Supreme Court Rules, 2013.
Is a review petition the same as an appeal?
No. A review goes to the same court to correct a clear error. An appeal goes to a higher court for a fresh look at the facts and the law. A review cannot be used to re-argue the merits of the case.
Can a criminal judgment be reviewed?
Generally no. A criminal court cannot alter its own final judgment except to correct a clerical or arithmetical error. This limit continues under the BNSS, 2023, whose section numbering is new, so confirm it against the bare Act.
What is a curative petition?
A curative petition is a rare last-resort remedy in the Supreme Court, available after a review petition has been dismissed, to prevent a gross miscarriage of justice. It came from the decision in Rupa Ashok Hurra and is granted very rarely.