The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment dated July 23, has held that no second petition of quashing is maintainable under Section 482 CrPC if such petition is based on grounds which were available but not agitated in the first petition. The apex court observed that the principle of constructive res judicata is applicable in such petitions, thereby barring repeated litigation on the same issues.
Background of the Case
- The case was before the Supreme Court on an appeal against the order of the Madras High Court allowing the second quashing petition submitted by the accused in September 2022. The High Court had dismissed the first petition in December 2021 but entertained this subsequent petition on grounds which were available at the time of the first filing.
- The bench consisting of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta castigated this procedure breach with great seriousness and decided in favour of the complainant by setting aside the High Court's second order.
Supreme Court’s Observation
- The Supreme Court made it abundantly clear that filing of multiple quashing petitions on the same grounds is impermissible. Therefore, the Court stressed that a person who has approached the Courts under Section 482 CrPC must raise all the grounds available to him in that petition; failing which he will be stopped from raising those grounds in a fresh petition.
- The Court stated that the second petition would only be viable if it could be demonstrated that the circumstances had changed to the point where a fresh quashing petition needed to be filed.
- The Court in the present case observed that the quashing of a similar complaint was known to have been done by the High Court on March 9, 2020, before the dismissal of the first petition in December 2021. For this reason, the accused were precluded from subsequently attempting to raise such a plea in the second petition.
Breach of Section 362 CrPC
- Meanwhile, the Court took the year 2007 decision of the Madras High Court in the Second Quashing Petition to be an unlawful review of its previous order. Such review stands prohibited by Section 362 of the CrPC, which does not allow any judgment to be recalled or reviewed, except where clerical or arithmetical errors exist.
- An observation of particular importance comes in the form of reaffirming the fact that the inherent powers of the High Court in Section 482 CrPC are not to override the statutory bar on review by Section 362.
Reference to Precedent
- The Supreme Court quoted the recent decision of Bhisham Lal Verma v. State of UP, 2023, to support its conclusions. It was observed in that case that Section 482 of the CrPC should not be used as a tool to revisit or reargue matters that could have been taken up in a previous quashing petition.
- This citation adds weight to the principle that Section 482 is not a tool for piecemeal litigation and must be used cautiously to thwart abuse of process.
Legal Implications
This ruling will settle the procedural aspect involving the filing of quashing petitions. It lays down the following law:
- Litigants must raise every possible ground in their first quashing petition;
- Second petitions on the same grounds would be barred under the principle of constructive res judicata;
- High Courts cannot review or reverse certain decisions through subsequent quashing petitions barring any change in facts or circumstances.
Consequently, this decision prevents repetitive litigation as it is to ensure that the precious time of the Judiciary is not wasted on matters already adjudicated.
In the case of M.C. Ravikumar vs. D.S. Velmurugan & Ors., the Supreme Court emphasized the inviolability of judicial finality. By reinforcing constructive res judicata and non-reviewability under Section 362 of the CrPC, the court has drawn a very strong line barring attempts to reopen cases in the absence of any new ground. This will hopefully be followed by all courts while dealing with criminal matters under Section 482 of the CrPC.
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