WHAT IS SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION?

Special leave petition in short (SLP) holds a prime place in the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. It comes under extraordinary appellate jurisdiction. Article 136 of the constitution of India prescribed Special leave petition and under this article, the Supreme Court may in its discretion, grant special leave to appeal from any judgment, decree, determination, sentence, or order in any cause or matter passed or made by any court or tribunal in the territory of India except any court or tribunal constituted by or under any law relating to the armed forces. Article 136 confers a wide discretionary power on the Supreme Court to interfere in suitable cases. It is special jurisdiction and can be described as a residuary power, extraordinary in its amplitude, its limits when it chases injustice is the sky itself. Article 136 is a corrective jurisdiction that vests discretion in the Supreme Court to settle the law clear. It makes the law operational to make it a binding precedent for the future instead of keeping it vague. It is pointed out that Article 136 does not confer any right of appeal on any party but it confers a discretionary on the Supreme Court to interfere in suitable cases. The jurisdiction under article 136 of the constitution of course cannot be barred by statute since it is an extraordinary power. It is to be noted that article 136 is not a regular appeal at all rather it is a residual provision that enables the Supreme Court to interfere with any order of any court or tribunal in its discretion and in exceptional circumstances so it is not a regular form of appeal.

WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE TO FILE A SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION IN THE SUPREME COURT?

There are two types of special leave petitions i.e Special leave petition (civil) and special leave petition (criminal). As per Supreme Court Rules 2013, the Special leave petition (civil) is governed by order XXI Rule 3 (1) (a)of the Supreme Court Rules 2013, and Special Leave Petition (Criminal) is governed by order XXII rule 2 (1) of the Supreme Court Rule 2013.

WHAT IS THE LIMITATION PERIOD IN FILING THE SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION?

So far as the Special leave petition (Civil) is a concern, the limitation period to file a special leave petition is 60 days from the order or judgment of the High Court if the high court has refused to give a certificate of fitness to appeal to the Supreme Court and in any other case 90 days from the order or judgment of the High Court. In a criminal case, the limitation period to file a special leave petition is 60 days from the date of refusal where leave to appeal has been refused by the High Court and in any other case not involving the case of sentence of death, within 90 days from the date of judgment or order sought to be appealed from and in a case involving the sentence of death, within sixty days from the date of judgment or order sought to be appealed from.

FORMAT OF SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION:-

There is a special Form no.28 under the Supreme Court rules 2013 for filing of the special leave petition in the Supreme Court. All the special leave petitions whether it is civil or criminal has to be strictly in accordance with Form no.28.No separate application is required to be filed along with the main SLP for any interim relief.

WHETHER A PERSON WHO IS NOT A PARTY BEFORE THE HIGH COURT, CAN FILE A SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION IN THE SUPREME COURT?

The general rule is, the person who is aggrieved by an order or judgment of the High Court and is a party to the petition before the High Court can approach the Supreme Court against the order or judgment of the High Court by filing a special leave petition but in a case where a person is aggrieved from the judgment or order of the High Court but he or she was not a party before the High court, can also file a special leave petition with leave of the court and for which it is required to file an application seeking permission to file special leave petition along with the Special leave petition.