The Supreme Court has held that the extraordinary jurisdiction of High Courts under Article 226 of the Constitution cannot be scuttled or whittled down, and that orders passed by statutory Revenue Courts exercising quasi-judicial powers can be tested before the High Court in writ jurisdiction.
A Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva set aside a Madhya Pradesh High Court Division Bench order which had treated a writ petition filed under Article 226 as one under Article 227, thereby denying the appellant an appellate remedy. The Supreme Court held that this approach could not be sustained and restored the writ appeal for fresh consideration on its merits and in accordance with law.
The Court further clarified that Revenue Courts exercising statutory quasi-judicial powers cannot be equated with judicial courts, and that the validity of their orders can be tested under the High Court’s writ jurisdiction. All issues were left open for fresh consideration.
