How to File a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court: Complete Step-by-Step Procedure

Most special leave petitions are decided at the first hearing, often within a few minutes. The Bench has usually read the synopsis, the list of dates, the questions of law and the impugned judgment. The petition has to persuade it, quickly, that the case raises a question of law of some importance, or that the judgment below involves an error so serious that it results in injustice.

The essay on civil special leave petitions discusses the kinds of case in which leave is ordinarily granted, and the essay on criminal special leave petitions covers the criminal side. In both, a petition that simply reargues the facts, or lists every conceivable error without identifying the one that matters, is unlikely to succeed.

A well-framed question of law is short, arises from the reasoning of the impugned judgment, and can be answered without first resolving a disputed fact. It should identify the provision or principle in issue and the respect in which the High Court is said to have erred, for instance by applying the wrong test, ignoring a binding decision, or reading a statutory provision in a way that conflicts with the decisions of other High Courts.

Compound questions, questions that assume the petitioner's version of disputed facts, and long lists of overlapping questions weaken a petition. Where the case turns on a conflict between High Courts or with a decision of the Supreme Court, the petition should cite the conflicting decisions precisely, since that is often the strongest reason for the Court to intervene.

An order dismissing a special leave petition at the threshold does not merge the High Court's judgment into the Supreme Court's order. As the Court held in Kunhayammed v. State of Kerala, and reaffirmed in Khoday Distilleries Ltd. v. Sri Mahadeshwara Sahakara Sakkare Karkhane Ltd., a party whose petition has been dismissed in limine may still apply to the High Court for review of its judgment on the grounds available in law. A non-speaking order of dismissal declares no law under Article 141.

If a petition is to be withdrawn, the terms of the order matter. A petition withdrawn without liberty is generally treated as closing the door to a second petition against the same order, so if the petitioner wishes to seek review in the High Court or pursue another remedy, liberty to do so should be sought expressly.

Petitions most often fail because they invite the Court to reappreciate evidence on which the courts below have recorded concurrent findings, without showing that the findings are perverse. Others fail because they raise grounds that were never urged below, or depend on documents that were not part of the record.

Suppression of material facts is treated seriously. A petition that does not disclose an earlier round of litigation, an undertaking given to the court below, or a related order may be dismissed on that ground alone, whatever its merits. Delay that is not properly explained is another common reason; the guide to limitation and condonation of delay explains how the Court approaches it.

Interim relief is frequently granted on conditions. In money matters, a stay of execution is often conditional on depositing all or part of the decretal amount or furnishing security, and failure to comply with the condition in time usually means losing the protection.

Once leave is granted, the special leave petition becomes a civil or criminal appeal. The Court is then exercising appellate jurisdiction in the full sense, within the questions on which leave was granted, and the appeal awaits its turn for final hearing. Interim orders made at the stage of the petition usually continue unless modified.

Many matters, however, are disposed of without a full appeal: after notice, the Court may set aside the impugned judgment and remit the case for fresh consideration, record a settlement, or dismiss the petition after hearing both sides. Parties should be prepared for a final decision at any listing after notice has been issued.