Supreme Court says a Letters Patent Bench may upset a writ court's decision only where the error is glaring on the face of the record

National Law and courts Law & Courts

Supreme Court says a Letters Patent Bench may upset a writ court's decision only where the error is glaring on the face of the record

20 October 2026

A Supreme Court bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Shree Chandrashekhar has held that a Letters Patent Bench cannot interfere with the decision of a writ court merely because it takes a different view. The judgment in R. Saravanan v. Periyar University, reported as 2026 INSC 1136 and as 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 1068, was written by Justice Chandrashekhar. The court said interference is open only where the findings are demonstrably erroneous and the mistake is glaring on the face of the record, and that a Letters Patent Bench is not entitled to interfere on a mere showing of some error of fact or law. It set aside a Madras High Court Division Bench judgment of 29 August 2019, delivered under Clause 15 of that court's Letters Patent, which had reversed a single judge and restored the removal of a Deputy Registrar from service. The single judge's order, which had found the inquiry findings perverse, was restored.

Case: R. Saravanan v. Periyar University Citation: 2026 INSC 1136 Bench: Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar Provision considered: Clause 15 of the Letters Patent

Why it matters for exams: Letters Patent appeals and the limits on intra-court appeals in High Courts are a recurring theme in polity and law questions.

Kerala PSCUPSC

20 October 2026 Source: LiveLaw report

In plain words

Letters Patent Letters Patent — The founding charter of the older chartered High Courts, whose Clause 15 allows an appeal from a single judge to a division bench.

Certiorari Writ of certiorari — A writ by which a higher court quashes an order of a lower authority that is without jurisdiction or evidence.