Supreme Court Directs Courts to Curb Withdrawal and Refiling of Execution Petitions

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed executing courts not to permit withdrawal and refiling of execution petitions without valid justification, observing that such practices contribute to unnecessary delays in the enforcement of decrees.

A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Pankaj Mithal made the observation while dealing with applications arising from its earlier judgment in Periyammal (Dead Through LRs) & Ors. v. V. Rajamani & Anr., where the Court has been monitoring the disposal of execution petitions across the country.

“The executing court should ensure that without any valid reason, it should not permit the learned advocates to withdraw the execution petitions and then refile them again. It is only for a very valid reason that the executing court may permit withdrawal of the execution petition already filed with permission to file a fresh petition,” the bench directed.

Pendency of Execution Petitions

Earlier, from reports filed by the High Courts, the Supreme Court had noted with concern that over 8.8 lakh execution petitions were pending across the country.

The report from the Karnataka High Court was received later. It revealed that 1,41,814 execution petitions remain pending in the district judiciary of Karnataka. Calling the situation “very alarming,” the bench urged the High Court of Karnataka to evolve a procedure to guide subordinate courts for effective and expeditious disposal of pending execution cases.

The Court observed that as on February 28, 2025, there were 1,57,217 pending execution cases across Karnataka's 30 districts. Though 41,221 petitions were disposed of in the six months following the Court's March 6 judgment in the main appeals, the backlog continues to remain heavy.

"We expect the High Court of Karnataka to take up the issue of huge pendency of the execution petitions in the different courts of its district judiciary very seriously."

"1,41,814 is a very alarming pendency. We request the High Court of Karnataka to evolve some procedure and guide the district judiciary for effective and expeditious disposal of the execution petitions pending as on date."

Registrar General’s Explanation

Earlier, the Supreme Court had sought an explanation from the Registrar General of the Karnataka High Court for failing to submit data on the disposal of execution petitions within the stipulated time.

In an affidavit, the Registrar General cited delays in receiving accurate information from several districts, stating that efforts were made to update and verify data before submission. He expressed unconditional apology and assured that the lapse was “purely inadvertent and not intentional.”

The Supreme Court accepted the explanation but reiterated that future compliance must be prompt.

Next Hearing and Directions

The matter will next be taken up on April 10, 2026, when the Court will review further compliance with its earlier directions. The bench directed that a copy of its order be sent to the Registrar General of the High Court of Karnataka, who must place it before the Chief Justice of the High Court for appropriate action.

The observations were made in the continuing proceedings arising from the Court's March 6, 2025 decision in Periyammal v. V. Rajamani, which set a 6-month limit to dispose of execution petitions.