1. Any retired judge of the Supreme Court of India can be called back to sit and act as a Supreme Court judge by the Chief Justice of India with prior permission of the President of India.
2. A High Court in India has the power to review its own judgement as the Supreme Court does.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Explanation
Statement 1 is correct: As per Article 128 of the Constitution, the Chief Justice of India may, at any time, with the previous consent of the President, can request a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a retired judge of a High Court to sit and act as a Judge of the Supreme Court for a temporary period. Such a judge is entitled to such allowances as the president may determine. He will also enjoy all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of a judge of the Supreme Court.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The Supreme Court possesses of the Constitution. In contrast, High Courts do not have a similar constitutional provision; their power to review their own judgments arises from statutory provisions--specifically, Section 114 and Order 47 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC). These statutory powers are limited in scope compared to the constitutional authority of the Supreme Court. Therefore, equating the review powers of High Courts with those of the Supreme Court is not technically accurate. Moreover, the Supreme Court has also evolved the concept of a curative petition, which extends its review jurisdiction and is not available to High Courts. Note: UPSC has given its official answer as (a).