Mandatory to file certificate of Senior Advocate along with curative petition: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has reiterated that a curative petition filed before the top court has to be necessarily accompanied by a certificate from a Senior Advocate certifying that the case is covered in terms of the guidelines laid down in the case of 'Rupa Ashok Hurra' (Rajesh Jha v. State of Uttar Pradesh)..The order was passed by single-judge Justice Hima Kohli in a jail petition filed in the form of a curative by a convict, one Rajesh Jha against an order of the Supreme Court dismissing the review petition.During the scrutiny of this case, the Court found that as per the requirement laid down in Rupa Ashok Hurra v. Ashok Hurra and Another (2002) 4 SCC 388, the curative petition was not accompanied by the requisite mandatory certificate of Senior Advocate..In Rupa Ashok Hurra Case, the Supreme Court had observed that:"The petitioner, in the curative petition, shall aver specifically that the grounds mentioned therein had been taken in the review petition and that it was dismissed by circulation. The curative petition shall contain a certification by a Senior Advocate with regard to the fulfillment of the above requirements."However, instead of filing the requisite certificate from a Senior Advocate, the petitioner in the instant case had filed an application for exemption from filing the said certificate. Therefore, being a jail petition in a form of curative, the matter was referred to the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC).The SCLSC after examining the plea forwarded a cover letter addressed by Senior Advocate Suryanarayana Singh stating inter alia that there is no ground available for filing a curative petition..While dismissing the petition, the Supreme Court noted:"Order XLVIII Rule 2(2) of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 makes it mandatory to file a certificate from a Senior Advocate, certifying inter alia that the case is covered in terms of the guidelines laid down in the case of “Rupa Ashok Hurra” (supra)."Additionally, the Court observed that "since the information received from the Senior Advocate states that no ground is available for entertaining a curative petition, the unregistered Curative Petition is dismissed along with all the pending applications.".Order XLVIII of the Supreme Court Rules 2013 reads:1. Curative Petitions shall be governed by Judgment of the Court dated 10th April, 2002 delivered in the case of 'Rupa Ashok Hurrah v. Ashok Hurrah and Ors.' in Writ Petition (C) No. 509 of 1997.2. (1) The petitioner, in the curative petition, shall aver specifically that the grounds mentioned therein had been taken in the Review Petition and that it was dismissed by circulation.(2) A Curative Petition shall be accompanied by a certificate of the Senior Advocate that the petition meets the requirements delineated in the above case.(3) A curative petition shall be accompanied by a certificate ofthe Advocate on Record to the effect that it is the first curative petition in the impugned matter.3. The Curative Petition shall be filed within reasonable time from the date ofJudgment or Order passed in the Review Petition.4. (1) The curative petition shall be first circulated to a Bench of the three senior-most judges and the judges who passed the judgment complained of, if available.(2) Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, a curative petition shall be disposed of by circulation without any oral arguments but the petitioner may supplement his petition by additional written arguments.(3) If the Bench before which a curative petition was circulated concludes by a majority that the matter needs hearing then it shall be listed before the same Bench, as far as possible.(4) If the Court, at any stage, comes to the conclusion that the petition is without any merit and vexatious, it may impose exemplary costs on the petitioner..[Read Order]