They Called It Correcting An Error. It Changed The Whole Result.
On review, the court below deducted square metres from the compensation an arbitrator had fixed. The Chief Justice's bench has held that went well beyond review.
The Court held that deducting the area from the compensation determined under the arbitral award does not merely correct an error apparent in the earlier order. It substantially alters the consequence of the arbitral adjudication and lets the respondents advance a case never raised before the Arbitrator. That travels beyond the permissible scope of review jurisdiction. The review order was set aside and the original order confirmed.
- Review corrects an error apparent, and nothing more.
- A point never argued before the arbitrator cannot be introduced through a review of the writ order.
- Changing the consequence is the test, not the label on the application.
- The original order of 2021 is restored, four years after it was made.
- Court
- High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru
- Citation
- Writ Appeal No. 201 of 2025
- Case
- Writ Appeal No. 201 of 2025
- Decided
- 2 September 2026
- Outcome
- Appeal allowed; review order set aside and the original order confirmed
What the review did
The order under appeal, made on a review petition, deducted an area in square metres from the compensation determined under the arbitral award.
The original writ order it reviewed had been passed in 2021.
Why that was beyond review
That exercise does not merely correct an error apparent in the earlier order. It substantially alters the consequence of the arbitral adjudication.
It also permits the respondents to advance a case which was neither raised before the Arbitrator nor formed the basis of the original proceedings.
In the Court's view such an exercise travels beyond the permissible scope of review jurisdiction and cannot be sustained.
The order
The appeal was allowed and the review order of 20 December 2024 set aside.
The original order of 22 October 2021 in the writ petition stands confirmed.
Who argued it
Appearances as recorded in the judgment of the Court.
Frequently asked
What can a review actually correct?
An error apparent on the face of the record. It cannot alter the substantive consequence of an adjudication.
Can a new argument be raised in review?
No. The Court held that permitting a case never raised before the Arbitrator travels beyond review jurisdiction.
Resisting a review that is really a rehearing
- Ask what error apparent is being corrected, and make the other side name it precisely.
- Show whether the point was argued before the original forum; a new case is the clearest marker.
- Measure the effect: if the consequence of the adjudication changes, it is not review.
- Appeal the review order rather than relitigating the merits.
Source. High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru, Writ Appeal No. 201 of 2025, decided 2 September 2026 by . This explainer is written from the judgment text as reported.
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