What an SLP is
Article 136 gives the Supreme Court discretion to grant special leave to appeal from any judgment, decree, sentence or order passed by any court or tribunal in India, other than courts and tribunals under laws relating to the armed forces. It is not an appeal as of right: the Supreme Court first decides whether the case deserves to be heard at all. It usually grants leave where there is a substantial question of law, a serious error, a grave injustice, or conflicting decisions that need to be settled.
Civil and criminal SLPs
- Civil SLPs: against High Court judgments in second appeals, writ petitions, arbitration, property, service and commercial matters, and against tribunal orders.
- Criminal SLPs: against High Court orders refusing or granting bail, refusing to quash an FIR, and in criminal appeals and revisions. See bail in the Supreme Court.
Time limit
Under the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, an SLP is to be filed within 90 days of the High Court's judgment or order, or within 60 days of an order refusing a certificate of fitness to appeal. If the deadline has passed, an application for condonation of delay can be filed explaining the reasons, but the delay has to be explained convincingly. It is safer to act well within time.
Filings in the Supreme Court are made through an Advocate-on-Record. Vinay Redhu, Advocate, handles Supreme Court matters together with an Advocate-on-Record.
How an SLP usually moves
- The High Court judgment and record are reviewed to identify the questions of law and the grounds.
- The SLP is drafted with a synopsis and list of dates, questions of law, grounds, a declaration that the documents are true copies, and any applications for interim relief or condonation of delay.
- It is filed through an Advocate-on-Record. If the other side has filed a caveat, they are served in advance.
- At the admission hearing, the court may dismiss the SLP, issue notice to the other side, or grant interim relief such as a stay.
- After notice, the court may grant leave, after which the SLP is converted into a civil or criminal appeal and heard on merits, or it may decide the matter at the notice stage itself.
Keep these ready
- A copy of the High Court judgment or order, with the date it was pronounced.
- The trial court and first appellate orders, if any, and the main pleadings and evidence.
- The case number at the High Court and the names of all parties.
- For a criminal SLP by a person in custody, the custody certificate from the jail.