Article 142

Background and evolution

The framers recognised that rigid application of law can sometimes produce injustice, and that the highest court needs a residual power to do what is right in exceptional cases. Article 142 gives the Supreme Court this power: in exercising its jurisdiction, it may pass any decree or make any order necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it.

For decades the article was used sparingly. From the 1990s, the Court increasingly used it to fill gaps in law, frame guidelines, and craft remedies in cases where no clear statutory route existed. This made Article 142 both a powerful tool for justice and a subject of debate about judicial overreach.

Key features and provisions

• Scope: any order needed for complete justice in a pending case; the Court can mould relief beyond what the parties seek.
• Enforcement: orders are enforceable throughout India in the manner prescribed by Parliament or, until then, by presidential order.
• Ancillary powers: Article 142(2) lets the Court secure attendance of persons, discovery of documents and punish contempt.
• Limits: orders cannot violate Fundamental Rights, and the Court has said it should not use Article 142 to override express provisions of law or to build a new structure where none exists.
• Nature: curative and supplementary; it is meant to complement, not replace, substantive law.