Supreme Court judgments under Article 142 not binding precedent, cannot be applied with examining facts: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that a judgment passed by the Supreme Court in exercise of powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India cannot be applied as a binding precedent without examining the facts of a case (Prabhu Kumar Rawat vs. National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd.).Article 142 empowers Supreme Court to pass orders to do complete justice in cases before it.Justice Anil Kshetarpal said that the judgement of the Supreme Court in State of Punjab vs. Rafiq Masih is one such judgment which was passed under Article 142 and cannot be considered a binding precedent."At one stage, the case of Rafiq Masih was referred to a larger Bench of the Supreme Court. When the matter was placed before the larger Bench, it was held that such judgments are in exercise of powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India and therefore, are not binding precedents," the High Court noted.Where the facts of the case shows that relief claimed is inequitable, mechanical adherence to a judgment of the Supreme Court in exercise of its equitable jurisdiction under Article 142 is not correct, the High Court said.Hence, the principles laid down in Rafiq Masih cannot be applied to the highest paid employees of a corporation since the test of hardship (faced by employees) is imperative before following the judgment of Rafiq Masih.The observations were made in a judgment delivered in batch of pleas by existing and retired employees of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd (NHPC).The petitioners had challenged an April 2020 office order of NHPC for recovery of money by the respondent authorities from the petitioners on account of excess payment in view of an interim order passed by the High Court earlier.The counsel representing the petitioners, submitted that in view of the judgment passed in Rafiq Masih, no recovery can be made from the employees, particularly after a long passage of time and after some of the petitioners have already retired.It was also submitted that the petitioners were not given any show cause notice and consequently, in the absence of an opportunity of hearing, the orders under challenge are not sustainable. It was also the contention of the petitioners that the decision of the respondents was barred by limitation and the order under challenge could not be passed retrospectively..Therefore, it was submitted that the order was inequitable, and the petitioners could not be called upon to return the excess payment particularly due to no fault of their own..On the other hand, it was pointed out by Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, on behalf of the respondents, that the amount to be recovered paled in comparison to the amount paid by the corporation, thereby making the relief sought by the petitioners inequitable. It was further brought to the attention of the Court that petitioners were the highest paid employees in the Corporation and were themselves occupying board level positions..The petitioner’s argument was not accepted by the High Court. It held that since the judgment was passed by the Supreme Court in exercise of its powers under Article 142, which concerns its equitable jurisdiction, the same cannot be applied without examining facts..The Court went on to observe that the judgement did not apply to the facts of the present case since the amount was sought to be recovered in accordance with an interim order passed by the Court..The Court also observed that due to revision in the pay scales, the petitioners were getting a huge amount and the amount sought to be recovered in comparison was much less..Therefore, the petitioners failed to show equity in their favour, the Court said dismissing the plea..Senior Advocates DS Patwalia and Chetan Mittal appeared for the petitioners.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, advocates Lokesh Sinhal and Saurav Aggarwal assisted by advocates Pritpal Nijjar and Ananvay Anandvardhan appeared for the respondents..[Read Order]