What is a curative petition?

• Curative petitions is a judicially created mechanism of the Court to ensure that an aggrieved person is entitled to relief against the final judgment of the Court after the dismissal of a review petition, in order to do complete justice as intended under Article 142 of the Constitution of India.
• A curative petition may be filed after a review plea against the final conviction is dismissed. 
• It is meant to ensure there is no miscarriage of justice, and to prevent abuse of process. 

Guiding Principles

• Every curative petition is decided on the basis of principles laid down by the Supreme Court in Rupa Ashok Hurra Vs Ashok Hurra & another, 2002. 
  • The court ruled that a curative petition can be entertained if the petitioner establishes there was a violation of the principles of natural justice, and that he was not heard by the court before passing an order. 
  • It will also be admitted where a judge failed to disclose facts that raise the apprehension of bias.
• The SC has held that curative petitions must be rare rather than regular, and be entertained with circumspection. 

Procedure

• A curative petition must be accompanied by certification by a senior advocate, pointing out substantial grounds for entertaining it. 
• It must be first circulated to a bench of the three senior-most judges, and the judges who passed the concerned judgment, if available. 
• Only when a majority of the judges conclude that the matter needs hearing should it be listed — as far as possible, before the same Bench.

Why in News?

• The Supreme Court has rejected curative petitions seeking a review of its 2019 judgment on adjusted gross revenues (AGR) payable by telecom firms.

Background

• The judgment had permitted the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to include all non-telecom revenue in AGR.
• The curative petitions had been put up by the telcos as a last legal resort to reduce their burden of Rs 1.43 trillion in AGR, which was based on a subsequent judgment in 2020. 

https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/sc-rejects-telecom-firms-pleas-on-agr-case-vi-stocks-tank-124091901263_1.html