The Supreme Court is reviewing a possible instance of prejudice after the Andhra Pradesh High Court used an “improper” two-word caption to list a 16-year-old attempt-to-murder case.
The trial court had sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment. Parakkat argued that his client’s conviction was unsafe as the prosecution had materially changed his specific role in the alleged crime, thus creating serious doubt as to his actual involvement. The Bench was focussed more on the two-word caption on the High Court cause list.
But it was not the factual and legal merits of Ravi’s 88-page appeal which prompted a Supreme Court Bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Alok Aradhe to issue notice to the State of Andhra Pradesh on September 2, 2026.
His appeal in the State High Court was dismissed on merits in December last year. In his appeal before the top court, Mr.
In a brief order, the top court noted that the case of K. Ravi was captioned ‘for dismissal’ in the High Court cause list before even the formal pronouncement of the order. “We find that the High Court had listed the related criminal revision case under the caption ‘For Dismissal’ and thereafter dismissed the revision, though the matter was heard on merit… Listing of a case under such a caption itself indicates that a decision has already been taken before actual pronouncement of the order. This is not proper, more particularly in criminal matters,” the Bench of Justices Bhuyan and Aradhe observed in its order.
Though the Bench said the caption rankled, the High Court seemed to have dismissed Ravi’s case against his conviction and sentence on its own merits.
