Legal Representative under CPC

12 Jul 2025 --
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Appeal, Review, and Revision

1. Introduction

These three terms—Appeal, Review, and Revision—refer to different judicial remedies available to parties dissatisfied with orders or judgments. Although they sometimes overlap in purpose (to correct errors or injustice), they are distinct in their scope, procedure, and function.

2. Appeal

Definition:

An appeal is a process by which a higher court is asked to examine and change the decision of a lower court.

It is a right given by statute to a party dissatisfied with a judgment or order.

The appellate court rehears the case on facts and law and can affirm, modify, or reverse the lower court’s decision.

Features:

Aspect	Appeal
Who can file?	Aggrieved party (plaintiff or defendant).
Court	Higher court than the one that passed order.
Scope	Can examine facts and law.
Nature	Substantive remedy.
Time limit	Prescribed by law, e.g., 30 or 90 days.
Effect of filing	Usually suspends the execution of the order (subject to conditions).
Grounds	Error in facts, law, or procedure.

Relevant Case Law:

M.C. Chockalingam v. State of T.N., AIR 1972 SC 1920
Held: Appeal is a substantive right and courts should not lightly refuse to entertain it.

State of Punjab v. Ram Lubhaya Bagga, AIR 1998 SC 1348
The appellate court can re-appreciate evidence and correct errors of fact and law.

3. Review

Definition:

Review is the power of a court to re-examine its own judgment or order to correct any apparent error.

It is an intra-court remedy, meaning the same court revisits its decision.

It is not an appeal, but a limited reconsideration.

Grounds for Review (Order 47 Rule 1 CPC):

Discovery of new and important evidence.

Mistake or error apparent on the face of the record.

Any other sufficient reason.

To prevent injustice.

Features:

Aspect	Review
Who can file?	Any party to the original suit.
Court	Same court which passed the judgment.
Scope	Limited to errors apparent on the face of record or new evidence.
Nature	Corrective and limited remedy.
Time limit	Usually 30 days from judgment.
Grounds	Error apparent on face of record, new evidence, fraud, mistake.

Relevant Case Law:

R. v. Cripps, (1911) 2 KB 23
Review is not an appeal and is confined to correcting manifest errors.

Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd. v. Securities and Exchange Board of India, AIR 2010 SC 603
Held: Review is not a rehearing but for correcting errors apparent on face of record.

4. Revision

Definition:

Revision is the power of a higher court to examine the correctness, legality, or propriety of an order passed by a lower court.

It is an inter-court supervisory jurisdiction.

The revisional court does not re-appreciate evidence but looks for jurisdictional errors or gross irregularities.

Grounds for Revision (Section 115 CPC for Civil Revision):

Lack of jurisdiction.

Error of law or procedure.

Failure to exercise jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction exercised illegally or with material irregularity.

Features:

Aspect	Revision
Who can file?	Aggrieved party, usually in higher court.
Court	Higher court than the one which passed order.
Scope	Limited to jurisdictional and legal errors.
Nature	Supervisory and corrective jurisdiction.
Time limit	As prescribed by statute.
Grounds	Jurisdictional error, illegality, procedural irregularity.

Relevant Case Law:

Collector Land Acquisition v. Mst. Katiji, AIR 1987 SC 1353
Held: Revision is supervisory; it cannot be used to re-try facts.

State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, AIR 1992 SC 604
Revision is to be exercised sparingly and only for illegality or jurisdictional errors.

5. Differences Between Appeal, Review, and Revision

Criteria	Appeal	Review	Revision
Definition	Higher court re-examines order on facts and law.	Same court re-examines its own order for errors apparent on face.	Higher court examines legality/jurisdiction of lower court order.
Court	Higher court	Same court	Higher court
Scope	Facts and law	Limited to apparent errors or new evidence	Jurisdictional and legal errors only
Nature	Substantive remedy	Corrective and limited remedy	Supervisory and corrective
Evidence	Can be re-examined	No, except new evidence	No
Grounds	Error of fact or law	Error apparent on face, new evidence, mistake	Jurisdictional error, illegality
Time limit	Statutory	Usually 30 days	Statutory
Effect	Stay of execution possible	No stay as a rule	Usually no stay

6. Summary

Remedy	Court	Purpose	Scope of Examination	Key Feature
Appeal	Higher court	Correct errors in facts and law	Facts and law	Substantive re-hearing
Review	Same court	Correct errors apparent on record	Limited to apparent errors	Limited reconsideration
Revision	Higher court	Correct jurisdictional/legal errors	Jurisdiction and legality	Supervisory jurisdiction only