With reference to Indian judiciary, consider the following statements : 1. Any retired judge of the Supreme Court of India can be called back to sit and act as a Supreme Court judge by the Chief Justice of India with prior permission of the President of India. 2. A High Court in India has the power to review its own judgement as the Supreme Court does. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only ✓ UPSC's answer
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Why the answer is (a)
• Statement 1 is correct: under Article 128, the Chief Justice of India may, with the prior consent of the President, request any retired Supreme Court judge (or a retired High Court judge qualified for appointment) to sit and act as a Supreme Court judge.
• Statement 2 is treated as incorrect in the official key: the Constitution expressly gives the Supreme Court power to review its own judgments (Article 137) but has no matching provision for High Courts. A High Court's review power comes only from statute (Order 47 CPC) and its inherent jurisdiction, and it cannot review criminal judgments except for clerical errors (Section 362 CrPC) — so it is not the same power 'as the Supreme Court does'.
• Hence 1 only, option (a) — the official UPSC answer.
Why the other options are wrong
- (b) 2 only
- Statement 1 is correct under Article 128; statement 2 is treated as incorrect.
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- Statement 2 is treated as incorrect: High Courts have no constitutional review power like Article 137.
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
- Statement 1 is correct: Article 128 allows retired judges to be called back.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2021, held on 10 October 2021. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.