Review Petition (Pakistan)

A Review Petition in Pakistan lodges the matter formally, identifying the parties, the facts and the outcome the complainant seeks.

Order XLVII Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 specifies three grounds on which a review petition may be entertained: first, discovery of new and important matter or evidence which, after the exercise of due diligence, was not within the applicant's knowledge or could not be produced at the time the decree was made; second, some mistake or error apparent on the face of the record; and third, any other sufficient reason. The Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Federal Shariat Court, and the provincial High Courts — Lahore High Court, Sindh High Court (Karachi), Peshawar High Court, and Balochistan High Court (Quetta) — have inherent constitutional review jurisdiction under Article 188 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973, Section 22 of the Federal Shariat Court Act 1981, and the respective High Court Rules.

A Review Petition in Pakistan must be distinguished from an appeal (which is filed before a higher court seeking reversal of a lower court's decision), from a revision petition filed under Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (which lies before the High Court in supervisory jurisdiction), and from a writ petition filed under Article 199 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973 (for enforcement of fundamental rights or challenge to unlawful acts of government). The review jurisdiction is narrow and self-referential — the same court applies fresh eyes to its own decision to correct manifest error, not to re-hear the merits.

The limitation period for filing a Review Petition is prescribed by Article 173 of the Limitation Act 1908, which provides thirty days from the date of the decree or order sought to be reviewed (if the applicant was a party and had knowledge) or sixty days where the applicant is aggrieved but was not a party to the proceedings. The Limitation Act 1908 allows for condonation of delay under Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1908, provided the applicant can show sufficient cause for the delay — courts in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Quetta routinely require a detailed affidavit explaining the delay before granting condonation.

The Review Petition (Pakistan) procedure in the High Courts is governed by the respective High Court Rules — the Punjab Civil Courts Ordinance 1962, the Sindh Civil Courts Ordinance 1962, the Peshawar High Court Rules, and the Balochistan High Court Rules — all of which require the review petition to be filed with a certified copy of the judgment or order under review, the vakalatnama of the advocate, and the prescribed court fee under the Court Fees Act 1870. The applicant's advocate must be enrolled at the relevant provincial Bar Council — Lahore High Court Bar Association, Sindh Bar Council, KPK Bar Council, or Balochistan Bar Council — or the Pakistan Bar Council for Supreme Court matters.

A Review Petition in Pakistan is required in specific circumstances where a court has made a manifest error in its judgment or where new evidence has emerged that was unavailable at the time of hearing.

A Review Petition is needed when a Civil Court, District Court, or High Court has made a calculation error or a factual error apparent on the face of the record — for example, where a decree for money judgment contains an arithmetical mistake in the calculation of principal, markup, or court fees, or where a decree incorrectly describes the parties' names or the property in dispute under the Transfer of Property Act 1882.

A Review Petition is required when genuinely new evidence — a document, a title deed from the relevant Sub-Registrar's office, or a witness statement — emerges after the pronouncement of the decree, which the applicant could not discover despite exercising due diligence as required by Order XLVII Rule 1(a) of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908. The evidence must be new and important, not merely cumulative of evidence already before the court.

A Review Petition before the Supreme Court of Pakistan under Article 188 of the Constitution is needed when the Supreme Court has decided a case on a point of law and a subsequent judgment of the same court has taken a different view, creating an inconsistency that constitutes an error apparent on the face of the record — the review jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is exercised cautiously and only in exceptional circumstances.

A Review Petition is required before the Federal Tax Ombudsman, the Banking Mohtasib Pakistan, or a tribunal constituted under the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance 1999 where those bodies have committed an apparent procedural error or overlooked a statutory provision in their orders — many specialist tribunals have their own review procedures modelled on Order XLVII of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908.

A Review Petition is needed when a court has pronounced a decree or order without hearing all the parties who were entitled to be heard — a fundamental breach of the audi alteram partem principle that constitutes sufficient reason under Order XLVII Rule 1(c) of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908. This situation commonly arises when a party was not properly served with process under Order V of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 and an ex parte decree was passed.

A valid Review Petition in Pakistan under Order XLVII of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 must contain the following essential elements to be maintainable before civil courts, High Courts, and the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Court and Case Identification: The petition must be addressed to the same court that pronounced the judgment or order under review — whether a District Court, a High Court, the Federal Shariat Court, or the Supreme Court of Pakistan — and must state the original case number, the names of all parties (plaintiff/defendant or petitioner/respondent), and the date of the judgment or order under review. Misdescription of the court or case number leads to immediate rejection at the filing counter.

Party Details and Vakalatnama: The petitioner's full legal name, CNIC number, address, and the name of the advocate filing on their behalf must be stated. The advocate's enrollment number with the relevant provincial Bar Council or the Pakistan Bar Council (for Supreme Court) must be noted. The vakalatnama (power of attorney authorising the advocate) must be attached under Order III Rule 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 and verified before a Commissioner of Oaths.

Grounds for Review: Order XLVII Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 permits review only on three grounds — (a) discovery of new and important matter or evidence not previously available; (b) mistake or error apparent on the face of the record; or (c) any other sufficient reason. The petition must identify which ground applies and state the specific error or new evidence with precision. Generic or vague grounds are struck down as misconceived by courts in Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad without detailed hearing.

Error on the Face of the Record: Where the ground is an apparent error in the order or judgment, the petition must specify the exact paragraph or page of the judgment containing the error and explain why it is an error apparent on the face of the record as opposed to an error of law or fact that should be corrected by appeal. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has consistently held in cases such as PLD 2006 SC 394 that review is not a disguised appeal and that the court's jurisdiction under Article 188 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973 does not extend to reconsidering questions of law or fact already decided.

New Evidence: Where the ground is discovery of new evidence under Order XLVII Rule 1(a) of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908, the petitioner must attach an affidavit explaining: (i) the nature of the new evidence; (ii) why it was not available despite due diligence; and (iii) how it is material to the outcome. The new evidence must be attached or described in sufficient detail for the court to assess materiality.

Limitation and Condonation: The petition must state the date of the judgment or order under review and confirm that it is filed within thirty days under Article 173 of the Limitation Act 1908, or include a separate application for condonation of delay supported by an affidavit explaining the delay with reference to illness, absence from Pakistan, non-service of the order, or other sufficient cause under Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1908.

Court Fee: The prescribed court fee under the Court Fees Act 1870 must be affixed on the petition. The court fee for a review petition varies by court and by the nature of the decree under review — for civil money decrees, the court fee is typically a percentage of the decreed amount. Petitions filed with insufficient court fee are returned for correction under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908.

Prayer / Relief Sought: The petition must conclude with a precise prayer specifying the relief sought — whether review, recall, modification of the original judgment, or a fresh hearing on specific issues. Courts in Pakistan decline to grant relief not specifically prayed for.

Forms-legal.com provides this Review Petition (Pakistan) template as a structural starting point for review proceedings under Order XLVII of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 and Article 188 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973. Review petitions in Pakistani courts require the assistance of a qualified advocate enrolled with the relevant provincial Bar Council — Lahore High Court Bar, Sindh Bar Council, KPK Bar Council, or Balochistan Bar Council — or the Pakistan Bar Council for Supreme Court proceedings.