In short. An Article 227 petition asks the Delhi High Court to correct a serious error by a district court, Rent Controller or tribunal in Delhi, usually an interim order against which no appeal lies. It is for parties stuck with an order that is plainly without jurisdiction or ignores the law, not for those who simply disagree with the result. Many petitions are decided within a few hearings; contested ones can take six months to two years. Next step: get a certified copy and check whether an appeal or revision lies first.
Is this your situation?
- A civil judge at Saket, Tis Hazari or Karkardooma has refused to take your written statement on record, or has closed your evidence.
- The trial court has rejected your application to amend the plaint, add a party or examine a witness, and the order cannot be appealed.
- A Rent Controller or tribunal in Delhi has passed an order you believe it had no power to pass.
- Your lawyer has said the word supervisory jurisdiction or the case type CM(M), and you want to know what it means.
- The other side has filed an Article 227 petition and the High Court has stayed your trial, or may do so.
- You are an NRI or live outside Delhi and a Delhi court's interim order is holding up your property or money case.
Key points
- It is a supervisory remedy, not an appeal. Under Article 227 the Delhi High Court keeps courts and tribunals below it within their legal limits; it does not rehear facts or substitute its own view.
- Check for an appeal or revision first. If the Code of Civil Procedure gives an appeal (for example under Order 43) or a revision under Section 115, the High Court will usually send you there.
- In Delhi the petition is registered as CM(M). Civil Miscellaneous (Main) petitions are heard by a single judge sitting on the roster for that category.
- There is no automatic stay. The trial carries on unless the High Court specifically stays the proceedings or the order, so ask for interim relief in the petition itself.
- Move quickly. No fixed limitation applies, but delay without explanation is one of the commonest reasons a petition is refused.
What is an Article 227 petition? The short answer
An Article 227 petition is a request to the High Court to use its power of superintendence over the courts and tribunals in its territory. In Delhi that means the civil and criminal courts at the seven district court complexes, the Rent Controllers and the Rent Control Tribunal, the Family Courts, and the many tribunals that sit in the capital. When one of them passes an order that is outside its jurisdiction, ignores a clear rule of law or shuts a party out without a fair hearing, the High Court can set it right.
Most Article 227 petitions in Delhi are filed by parties to civil suits who are unhappy with an interim order. The suit is still going on, the order is not a decree, and the Code of Civil Procedure gives no appeal against it. The written statement was not taken on record. The evidence was closed after two adjournments. The application to amend was refused on the ground of delay even though trial had not begun. For orders like these, Article 227 is often the only door left open.
The power is wide on paper and narrow in practice. The High Court does not ask whether it would have decided the application the same way. It asks whether the court below stepped outside its limits or made an error so obvious that leaving it in place would cause real injustice. That difference decides most petitions, and it is why a petition that reads like an appeal usually fails.
What supervisory jurisdiction means in practice
Article 227(1) of the Constitution gives every High Court superintendence over all courts and tribunals throughout the territories in relation to which it exercises jurisdiction. The Supreme Court has described this supervisory jurisdiction as a power to keep subordinate courts within the bounds of their authority, not to correct every mistake of fact or law they make. Think of it as a guard rail, not a second driver.
There are two sides to the power. The administrative side, in Article 227(2) and (3), lets the High Court call for returns, frame rules for the practice of subordinate courts and settle the fees of their staff. The judicial side is what a litigant uses: a petition asking the High Court to quash or correct a particular order in a particular case.
Article 227(4) excludes courts and tribunals set up under laws relating to the Armed Forces, so the High Court does not supervise courts martial or the Armed Forces Tribunal through this route. Everything else in Delhi that decides disputes, from a Civil Judge at Rohini to a statutory tribunal at ITO, falls within the supervisory jurisdiction.
Article 227 is also different from Article 226. Article 226 is the writ power, used against the government and public authorities. Since Radhey Shyam v. Chhabi Nath (Supreme Court, 2015), judicial orders of civil courts cannot be challenged by a writ of certiorari under Article 226; they can be corrected only under Article 227. A challenge to a tribunal's order is often framed under both articles, and the label matters later, as explained below.
CM(M): the name your Article 227 petition gets in Delhi High Court
When an Article 227 petition arising from a civil case is registered in the Delhi High Court, it gets the case type CM(M), which lawyers read aloud as CM Main and which stands for Civil Miscellaneous (Main). Your case number will look like CM(M) 1234/2026. Applications filed inside it, such as an application for stay, are numbered separately as CM APPL.
A civil revision under Section 115 CPC is registered differently, as CRP (Civil Revision Petition). Revisions against eviction orders under Section 25B(8) of the Delhi Rent Control Act are also registered as revision petitions. Petitions against criminal court orders usually go under Section 528 BNSS (old Section 482 CrPC) as CRL.M.C., or as a criminal revision. If your lawyer files a CM(M), it signals that the challenge is under Article 227 and that no appeal or revision was thought to lie.
This website belongs to a private law firm and is not the Delhi High Court's official website. The court's own website gives the official case status, cause lists and orders, and you can search your CM(M) there by number, party name or diary number. Our guide to terms used in Delhi High Court order sheets explains entries such as notice issued, renotify and TCR requisitioned.
The law behind supervisory petitions
Article 227, Constitution of India
Gives the High Court superintendence over all courts and tribunals within its territory, except Armed Forces courts and tribunals. It has no limitation period and no fixed list of orders that can be challenged; the limits come from case law.
Section 115, Code of Civil Procedure 1908
Civil revision. After the 1999 amendment (in force from 2002), the High Court can interfere with an interim order in revision only if the order, had it gone the other way, would have finally disposed of the suit. Section 115(2) bars revision where an appeal lies, and Section 115(3) says a revision does not by itself stay the suit. Because of the proviso, most interim orders in Delhi civil suits are now challenged under Article 227 instead.
Shalini Shyam Shetty v. Rajendra Shankar Patil (2010)
The Supreme Court set out the principles for Article 227: the power is to be used sparingly, to keep subordinate courts within their jurisdiction, and not to correct mere errors of fact or law that do not go to the root of the matter.
Radhey Shyam v. Chhabi Nath (2015)
A three-judge bench held that judicial orders of civil courts are not amenable to writ jurisdiction under Article 226; the remedy is Article 227. This is why civil court orders are challenged through CM(M) and not a writ petition.
Garment Craft v. Prakash Chand Goel (2022)
The Supreme Court held that the High Court under Article 227 cannot reappreciate evidence or act as a court of first appeal. It should interfere only where the order is perverse, patently without jurisdiction or shows a manifest failure of justice.
Section 8, Commercial Courts Act 2015
Bars civil revision against interlocutory orders of a Commercial Court. The Delhi High Court has held that Article 227 survives this bar, but it is used only in rare cases, so a petition against an interim order in a commercial suit faces a higher hurdle.
Appeal, revision, Article 227 or writ: which remedy fits your order?
| Remedy | What it is for | Typical orders | Registered in Delhi High Court as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appeal from order (Order 43, Section 104 CPC) | Orders the CPC makes appealable | Grant or refusal of temporary injunction under Order 39, appointment of receiver, return of plaint | FAO (or before the District Judge if the value is lower) |
| First appeal (Section 96 CPC) | Final decrees | Decree after trial, rejection of plaint under Order 7 Rule 11 (treated as a decree) | RFA |
| Civil revision (Section 115 CPC) | Jurisdictional errors in non-appealable orders that would have ended the suit if decided the other way | Dismissal of an application to reject the plaint on a ground that would end the suit | CRP |
| Article 227 | Supervisory correction where no other remedy is effective | Written statement not taken on record, evidence closed, amendment refused, local commissioner refused, tribunal acting beyond its powers | CM(M) |
| Writ under Article 226 | Action of the government or a public authority | Order of a government department, regulator or university | W.P.(C) |
Orders commonly challenged through a CM(M)
Interim orders in civil suits make up the bulk of CM(M) petitions. Common examples are an order refusing to condone delay in filing a written statement, an order closing a party's right to lead evidence, an order refusing leave to amend a plaint or written statement, an order refusing to summon a witness or a document, and an order rejecting an application for appointment of a local commissioner or for handwriting comparison. None of these is appealable under Order 43, and few would end the suit if decided the other way, so Section 115 does not help.
Execution proceedings produce many petitions too. A judgment debtor whose objections under Order 21 have been dismissed without inquiry, or a decree holder whose application for attachment has been refused on a wrong reading of the decree, often comes to the High Court under Article 227. Orders of the Rent Control Tribunal, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal on procedural points, and statutory tribunals that sit in Delhi are also corrected this way where the statute gives no further appeal.
Some orders look like candidates and are not. A temporary injunction order under Order 39 is appealable, so a CM(M) against it will be dismissed as not maintainable. An eviction order under Section 25B of the Delhi Rent Control Act has its own revision under Section 25B(8), covered on our page on eviction revisions in the Delhi High Court. A final decree goes in first appeal, explained in our guide on the difference between a first appeal and a second appeal. And orders made by the High Court's own Joint Registrars on the original side are challenged before the judge in chambers under the Original Side Rules, not under Article 227.
When the High Court interferes under Article 227, and when it does not
The High Court interferes when the court below acted without jurisdiction, refused to exercise a jurisdiction it had, or exercised it in breach of the law or of natural justice in a way that causes real injustice. A Civil Judge who decides a question the statute reserves for another forum, a Rent Controller who refuses to decide a question that only he can decide, or a court that closes evidence without hearing a party who had a genuine reason for absence, are all fit cases.
It also interferes where a finding is perverse, meaning no reasonable judge could have reached it on the record, or where the court ignored a binding judgment of the Supreme Court or the Delhi High Court. Orders passed without giving reasons, or by misreading the very document on which the application turned, fall in the same class.
It does not interfere because a different view was possible. If the trial judge weighed the reasons for delay and refused to condone it, and that view is one a reasonable judge could take, the High Court will usually leave it alone even if it might have condoned the delay itself. It does not re-weigh evidence, and it does not entertain arguments that should have been made below and were not.
The High Court may also decline where the error can be corrected in an appeal against the final decree. In Virudhunagar Hindu Nadargal Dharma Paribalana Sabai v. Tuticorin Educational Society (2019) the Supreme Court said High Courts should not entertain Article 227 petitions where the Code itself gives a remedy.
Why an Article 227 petition is not a second appeal
People who lose an interim application often want the High Court to look at everything again: the plaint, the documents, the credibility of the other side. A CM(M) does not work that way. The judge reads the impugned order, the application and reply, and the order sheets, and asks one question: did the court below go outside its limits? A petition that spends twenty pages on facts and two lines on jurisdiction tells the judge it is really an appeal.
The better approach is to find the single legal flaw and build the petition around it: a mandatory provision ignored, a binding judgment not followed, no hearing given, or a fact recorded that the order sheet shows is wrong. If the flaw fits in two sentences, the petition has a chance.
When Advocate B.K. Singh is asked whether to file a CM(M), the first thing he checks is what the order will actually do to the suit if it is left in place. An order closing evidence or striking off a defence can decide the case; an order refusing a minor adjournment rarely does. If the honest answer is that the final judgment will not turn on this order, his advice is usually to keep the objection on record and carry on with the trial, and to raise it later in the first appeal if the decree goes against you.
How a CM(M) is filed and heard in Delhi High Court
The sequence below is typical for a CM(M) arising from a district court civil suit. Timelines vary with the roster and the court's workload.
Get the papers
Apply for a certified copy of the impugned order, and get copies of the application, reply, and the order sheets of the trial court. If the certified copy will take time, the petition can be filed with an exemption application.
Check maintainability
Your lawyer confirms that no appeal lies under Section 96, Section 104 or Order 43, and that Section 115 revision is not available or not effective. This is the first question the judge will ask, so the petition should answer it in the opening paragraphs.
Draft the petition
The CM(M) sets out a short list of dates, the facts, the legal grounds and the prayer, supported by the petitioner's affidavit. An application for stay of the impugned order or of further proceedings is filed with it if needed. Under the Delhi High Court's practice the papers are e-filed and a diary number is generated.
Clear objections and get listed
The Registry examines the petition and may raise objections, such as missing annexures, wrong page numbering or unclear copies. Once they are cured, the matter is listed before the single judge holding the CM(M) roster, usually within a few days to two weeks. Urgent matters can be mentioned for early listing.
First hearing
At the first hearing the judge may dismiss the petition in limine, issue notice to the other side, grant or refuse interim stay, or in clear cases dispose of it with directions to the trial court. Many CM(M) petitions are decided at this stage or at the next date.
Reply and arguments
If notice is issued, the respondent files a reply, and the petitioner may file a rejoinder. The trial court record is sometimes called for. The matter is then argued, often in one or two hearings, though busy rosters can stretch this over months.
Judgment and next steps
The High Court either dismisses the petition, sets aside the order, or modifies it and sends the matter back with directions. The trial court then proceeds on that basis. Obtain a copy of the order and file it before the trial court on the next date.
If you live outside Delhi or abroad, the vakalatnama and affidavit can be signed where you are, and hearings are often attended by video. Our guide to filing a writ petition in Delhi High Court covers the e-filing and affidavit formalities that apply in the same way to a CM(M).
Time and cost of a CM(M) petition (typical ranges, not promises)
| Stage | Typical time | Court fee and expenses (general terms) |
|---|---|---|
| Certified copy of the impugned order | A few days to three weeks, depending on the court and urgency | Small copying charges at the district court |
| Drafting and filing the CM(M) | One to two weeks once papers are in hand; faster in urgent cases | Court fee on the petition and applications is modest; check the current court fee schedule |
| Registry objections and first listing | A few days to two weeks | Notarisation or oath commissioner charges for affidavits |
| First hearing: dismissal, notice or interim order | Decided on the first or second date in many cases | None beyond appearance |
| Reply, rejoinder and arguments if notice is issued | Three months to eighteen months, depending on the roster | Process fee for service; photocopying and paper book costs |
| Total for a contested petition | Commonly six months to two years | Lawyer's fees are discussed at the first meeting and agreed in writing, stage by stage |
Documents to collect for a CM(M)
From the trial court
- Certified copy of the impugned order
- Copy of the application that was decided, and the reply
- Order sheets of all dates relevant to the order, especially if the complaint is about adjournments or closure of evidence
- Copy of the plaint, written statement and any replication
- Any document the order relies on or misreads
From you
- Signed vakalatnama in favour of your lawyer
- Affidavit supporting the petition, signed before an oath commissioner or notary (or before an Indian consular officer if you are abroad)
- Proof of any reason you gave for delay or absence, such as a medical certificate or travel record
- Copies of any earlier High Court orders in the same suit
- A short note of the dates on which events happened, in your own words
Does filing a CM(M) stop the trial?
No. Filing a CM(M) does not stay anything by itself. The trial court will carry on with the suit on the next date unless the High Court has stayed the impugned order or the proceedings. Litigants are often caught out by this: they file in the High Court, stop attending the trial court, and find that their evidence has been closed or the suit has gone ahead ex parte in the meantime.
If the order you are challenging will cause harm before the High Court can decide the petition, ask for interim relief in the petition itself, in a separate stay application. Common requests are that the trial court not proceed beyond a certain stage, or not pronounce judgment, until the CM(M) is decided. Judges grant such stays sparingly, because a stay can freeze a suit for months. A request to stay only the final hearing while allowing evidence to continue is more likely to succeed than a request to stop the suit altogether.
Keep attending the trial court and tell it, through your lawyer, that a CM(M) is pending. Trial judges often adjust the schedule, but they are not obliged to wait.
Is there a time limit for an Article 227 petition?
There is no limitation period fixed by statute for this kind of petition. That does not mean you can wait. The High Court refuses relief to a party who sat on its rights, and a delay of several months with no explanation is often enough. Courts sometimes use the 90-day period for a civil revision as a rough measure of what is reasonable, though there is no rule that a petition filed on day 91 fails.
Delay hurts more in a pending suit, because the suit keeps moving. Wait four months to challenge an order closing your evidence, and final arguments may be over by the time the petition is listed.
If the petition is late, explain the delay honestly in the petition, with dates and documents. Time taken to obtain the certified copy, to consult a lawyer, or to recover from an illness can all count. What does not help is a vague statement that the petitioner was advised to wait.
If the other side has filed a CM(M) against an order you won
If you won an interim application and expect the other side to challenge it, consider filing a caveat in the Delhi High Court so that you are heard before any interim order is passed. Our guide on filing a caveat in Delhi High Court explains how. Without a caveat, the High Court can stay the order at the first hearing without hearing you, and the stay may remain for months.
Once notice is served, file a short reply. Point out any alternative remedy that was available, any delay, and any fact the petition leaves out. Attach the order sheets that show the trial court gave the petitioner several chances. Respondents often lose ground by filing long replies on the merits of the suit; the useful reply stays on the limited questions the High Court will actually decide.
Unless there is a stay, press the trial court to continue on the next date.
A made-up example: a shop dispute at Karkardooma and a closed evidence order
Here's a made-up example. Mr. Sethi, a hardware trader in Shahdara, is the defendant in a suit for recovery of possession of a shop, pending before a Civil Judge at Karkardooma. His evidence was fixed for three dates. On the first, his witness was unwell and a medical certificate was filed. On the second, the court did not take up the matter because the presiding officer was on leave. On the third, his counsel was held up in another court and sought a passover. The court closed his evidence that afternoon, recording that the defendant had taken three opportunities and was delaying the suit.
Mr. Sethi's new lawyer obtains certified copies of the order and the order sheets within a week. The order sheets show that the second date was a court leave date, so only two opportunities were actually lost, one of them with a medical reason. A CM(M) is filed within three weeks of the order, with a stay application asking only that the trial court not hear final arguments while the petition is pending.
At the first hearing the High Court issues notice and grants that limited stay. The landlord's counsel argues that the defendant is delaying, but cannot answer the point about the leave date. On the second date the High Court sets aside the closure order on terms: Mr. Sethi must produce all his witnesses on a single date fixed by the trial court and pay costs to the landlord. The petition is disposed of within about two months.
Mistakes that get CM(M) petitions dismissed
- Filing when an appeal lies. A CM(M) against an Order 39 injunction or a final decree will be dismissed as not maintainable, and the time spent may eat into your limitation for the correct remedy.
- Arguing facts instead of jurisdiction. Petitions that ask the High Court to believe your witnesses or documents over the other side's are treated as disguised appeals.
- Waiting too long. Unexplained delay of months, especially when the suit has moved on, is a common reason for refusal.
- Not filing the order sheets. If the complaint is about adjournments or closure, the order sheets are the evidence; without them the judge has only your word.
- Abandoning the trial court. Stopping attendance below because a petition is pending can lead to ex parte orders that are harder to undo than the original order.
- Asking for too wide a stay. A prayer to stop the whole suit is less likely to be granted than a narrow stay of the final hearing or judgment.
After the High Court decides: LPA, review or Supreme Court
A Letters Patent appeal to a Division Bench does not lie against a single judge's order made in the exercise of supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227. Where a petition was filed under both Article 226 and Article 227, the Supreme Court has held that what matters is the substance of the order: if the single judge in fact exercised writ jurisdiction, an appeal may lie. Our guide on the Letters Patent appeal in Delhi High Court explains how this question is decided.
If the order contains an error apparent on the face of the record, such as overlooking a document that was on file, a review petition before the same judge is possible within a short time; see our guide on how to file a review petition in Delhi High Court. Otherwise the remaining remedy is a special leave petition to the Supreme Court under Article 136, which is discretionary and rarely granted against interim orders in civil suits.
In practice, Advocate B.K. Singh tells clients that most of the value of a CM(M) is gained or lost at the first hearing. A focused petition with the order sheets attached and a narrow stay prayer gets the judge's attention; a long one gets a short dismissal. The more detailed page on challenging a trial court order under Article 227 and civil revision sets out how the firm takes on these petitions.
What to do this week
Apply for a certified copy of the order today, along with the order sheets of the last few dates. Write down, in one or two sentences, what you think the court did wrong. If that sentence is about the law or the court's power, an Article 227 petition may be worth considering. If it is about which side's evidence is better, it probably is not.
Do not stop attending the trial court. Check whether an appeal lies before the District Judge or the High Court, because that remedy has a fixed limitation period that is running. If you are the party who won the order, think about a caveat in the High Court.
If a trial court order is holding up your case, you can contact Advocate B.K. Singh for advice on your papers or for updates on the law on Article 227 and civil revision. Details of how such petitions are handled are on our Article 227 and civil revision page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I file an Article 227 petition against an order of the Delhi High Court itself?
No. Article 227 is used to supervise courts and tribunals below the High Court. Orders of a single judge of the High Court are challenged by appeal to a Division Bench where the law allows it, by review, or before the Supreme Court.
What is the court fee for a CM(M) petition in Delhi High Court?
The court fee on an Article 227 petition and its applications is modest compared with a suit, because the petition does not claim money or property. The amount is fixed by the court fee schedule, which changes from time to time, so check the current fee when filing.
Can I file an Article 227 petition against an order of the Family Court?
Final judgments and orders of a Family Court go in appeal under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act. Interlocutory orders are not appealable under that section, and a party may in suitable cases approach the High Court under Article 227, subject to the same narrow limits.
Will the High Court decide my CM(M) without the other side being heard?
It can dismiss the petition without hearing the other side, and it can grant a short interim stay before notice is served. It will not set aside the order finally without hearing the respondent, unless the respondent has been served and does not appear.
Can a tenant use Article 227 against a Rent Controller's order?
It depends on the order. An eviction order under Section 25B has its own revision under Section 25B(8), and orders of the Rent Control Tribunal may carry a second appeal. Article 227 is used for orders that have no other remedy, such as certain interim orders.
How many pages should an Article 227 petition have?
There is no fixed limit, but judges appreciate short petitions. A list of dates, a few pages of grounds, and the impugned order with the relevant application, reply and order sheets is usually enough.
Can I withdraw my CM(M) and file an appeal instead?
Yes, you can ask to withdraw the petition with liberty to pursue the correct remedy. Time spent in good faith in the wrong forum may be excluded under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, but this is not automatic, so do not delay.
Does an Article 227 petition apply to criminal cases?
The power covers criminal courts too, but in practice criminal orders are usually challenged by criminal revision or by a petition under Section 528 BNSS (old Section 482 CrPC). Article 227 is seldom the main route in criminal matters.
Advocate B.K. Singh
Founder of B.K. Singh & Associates. MCA, LL.B., LL.M. More than twenty years in practice before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, Delhi district courts and tribunals. This guide was written and reviewed by his team.
This guide explains the law in general terms and is not legal advice. For advice on your own papers, contact the team.
Related guides
PropertyWhich Property Cases Go Directly to Delhi High Court?
Which property disputes start in the Delhi High Court: suits above Rs 2 crore, probate, DDA and MCD writs, RERA and rent appeals. Where the rest...
PropertyHow to File a Partition Suit in Delhi
How a partition suit in Delhi is filed, which court hears it, how the preliminary and final decree work, court fee basics, time ranges and papers to...
PropertyCan a Daughter Claim a Share in Her Father's Property?
Can a daughter claim a share in her father's property? Ancestral and self-acquired property, Vineeta Sharma, wills, release deeds and partition in...
PropertyHow to Stop a Family Member From Selling Joint Property
A co-owner cannot sell the whole family property. How to stop sale of joint property in Delhi with an injunction, notices and a partition suit, step...
PropertyIs Probate Mandatory in Delhi?
Probate is not legally required for most wills in Delhi, but banks, DDA and buyers may still ask for it. When to get probate, which court, time and...
PropertyHow Long Does Probate Take in Delhi High Court?
How long probate takes in Delhi High Court and district courts: stage-wise time, citations, objections, court fee, NRI heirs and what speeds things...