Constitution of India, 1950
Article 142—Exercise of jurisdiction—Order of automatic vacation of interim orders by lapse of time—Legality of—There cannot be automatic vacation of stay granted by the High Court—Direction issued to decide all the cases in which an interim stay has been granted on a day-to-day basis within a time frame—Disapproved—Such blanket directions cannot be issued in the exercise of the jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution of India.
[Para 36]
Article 142—Exercise of jurisdiction—Important parameters for exercise of jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution of India which are relevant for deciding the reference are as follows:
(i) The jurisdiction can be exercised to do complete justice between the parties before the Court. It cannot be exercised to nullify the benefits derived by a large number of litigants based on judicial orders validly passed in their favour who are not parties to the proceedings before this Court;
(ii) Article 142 does not empower this Court to ignore the substantive rights of the litigants;
(iii) While exercising the jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, this Court can always issue procedural directions to the Courts for streamlining procedural aspects and ironing out the creases in the procedural laws to ensure expeditious and timely disposal of cases. However, while doing so, this Court cannot affect the substantive rights of those litigants who are not parties to the case before it. The right to be heard before an adverse order is passed is not a matter of procedure but a substantive right; and
(iv) The power of this Court under Article 142 cannot be exercised to defeat the principles of natural justice, which are an integral part of our jurisprudence.
[Para 37]
Article 142—Exercise of jurisdiction—A direction that all the interim orders of stay of proceedings passed by every High Court automatically expire only by reason of lapse of time cannot be issued in the exercise of the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution of India.
[Para 37]
Article 142—Exercise of jurisdiction—Apex Court, in the exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution, cannot direct the High Courts to decide pending cases in which interim orders of stay of proceedings has been granted on a day-to-day basis and within a fixed period—Constitutional Courts, in the ordinary course, should refrain from fixing a time-bound schedule for the disposal of cases pending before any other courts—Constitutional Courts may issue directions for the time-bound disposal of cases only in exceptional circumstances—Issue of prioritising the disposal of cases should be best left to the decision of the concerned courts where the cases are pending—While dealing with the prayers for the grant of interim relief, the High Courts should take into consideration the guidelines incorporated in judgment—It was clarified that in the cases in which trials have been concluded as a result of the automatic vacation of stay based only on the decision in the case of Asian Resurfacing (2018) 16 SCC 299, the orders of automatic vacation of stay shall remain valid.
[Para 37]
Stay Order
Automatic vacation—Stay order granted in any proceedings would not automatically stand vacated on the expiry of a particular period until and unless an application to that effect has been filed by the other side and is decided following the principle of natural justice by a speaking order. [Hon’ble Justice Pankaj Mithal]
[Para 7]
Validity of—A reasoned stay order once granted in any civil or criminal proceedings, if not specified to be time bound, would remain in operation till the decision of the main matter or until and unless an application is moved for its vacation and a speaking order is passed adhering to the principles of natural justice either extending, modifying, varying or vacating the same. [Hon’ble Justice Pankaj Mithal]
[Para 8]