In short. If you lost in the Delhi High Court, a Special Leave Petition under Article 136 asks the Supreme Court for permission to hear your appeal. It is discretionary: most petitions are decided at the first hearing, and only cases with a real question of law or serious injustice go further. File within 90 days of the judgment. Admission can come within weeks; full appeals take years. This is a private law firm website, not the Supreme Court's. Get the judgment read promptly, because the strongest grounds must be identified before the paper book is drafted.
Is this your situation?
- The Delhi High Court dismissed your appeal, writ or petition and you believe it got the law wrong.
- The High Court reversed a decree or acquittal that had gone in your favour in the lower court.
- You were convicted and the High Court has upheld the conviction or refused to suspend your sentence.
- Bail was refused by the High Court, or granted to an accused in your case and you want it cancelled.
- A Division Bench dismissed your Letters Patent Appeal and there is nothing left in the High Court.
- You won in the High Court and expect the other side, or a government department, to go to the Supreme Court.
- You need a matrimonial or criminal case transferred from one state to another.
What a Special Leave Petition is, and whether you need one
A Special Leave Petition (SLP) is a request to the Supreme Court of India, under Article 136 of the Constitution, for permission to appeal against a judgment or order of the Delhi High Court or any other court or tribunal. It is not an appeal as of right. The Supreme Court first decides whether to grant leave at all, and it refuses in most cases, often in a one-line order.
That makes the first question practical, not legal: is there a point in this judgment that the Supreme Court is likely to think needs its attention? A question of law on which High Courts disagree, a judgment that ignores a binding Supreme Court decision, a conviction resting on evidence that cannot bear it, a decree reversed without dealing with the trial court's reasons. These are the kinds of cases where leave is granted. A judgment that took a plausible view of the facts, even if a different view was possible, is usually left alone.
The court has said since Pritam Singh v. The State (1950) that its power under Article 136 is exercised sparingly, in exceptional cases where special circumstances are shown. That remains the working test. A good SLP does not re-argue the whole case; it shows, in the first two pages, why this case is one of the exceptions.
A private firm, not the Supreme Court
This is a private law firm website run by B.K. Singh & Associates. It is not the Supreme Court's website. For official case status, cause lists, judgments and notices, use the Supreme Court's own website, sci.gov.in, and its e-filing portal.
Under the Supreme Court Rules 2013, only an Advocate-on-Record can file a case and act for a party in the Supreme Court. Other advocates can argue on the Advocate-on-Record's instructions. For Supreme Court matters, the firm prepares the case, the grounds and the paper book, and works with an Advocate-on-Record who files and is on record, while Advocate B.K. Singh or counsel engaged with the client's agreement appears at the hearing. You are told at the outset who will file and who will argue.
The Supreme Court sits at Tilak Marg, New Delhi, a short distance from the Delhi High Court. The nearest metro station is Supreme Court on the Blue Line. Litigants entering the court need a pass, which is generated through the court's online e-pass system, usually at the request of the Advocate-on-Record.
People who cannot afford a lawyer can apply to the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, which provides free legal aid in Supreme Court matters to those who qualify under the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987, including persons in custody. A convict in Tihar who wants to challenge a Delhi High Court judgment can also ask the jail authorities to forward his request to the committee.
Grounds that tend to persuade the court to issue notice
- Conflict with a binding precedent. The High Court decided contrary to a Supreme Court judgment that was cited before it, or did not notice one that governs the point.
- A question of law of wider importance. The point affects many cases, for example the reading of a tax provision, a recruitment rule or a new section of the BNSS, and High Courts have taken different views.
- Evidence ignored or misread. A finding was reached without considering a document or testimony that goes to the root of the case, or by reading into the evidence something it does not say.
- Reversal without reasons. An appellate court overturned a decree or acquittal without dealing with the reasons the lower court gave. Reversal of an acquittal in particular is examined closely.
- Jurisdiction or limitation. The High Court entertained a case it had no power to hear, or held a case barred, or not barred, by limitation on a wrong reading of the law.
- Long custody and delay. In criminal matters, years in custody with the trial or appeal nowhere near conclusion. The court has repeatedly said that liberty cannot be held hostage to delay, as in K.A. Najeeb (2021) and Manish Sisodia v. ED (2024).
Preparing for the admission hearing
The admission hearing is short, often a few minutes. The bench has usually read the synopsis and glanced at the impugned judgment, and it wants to know one thing: why should the Supreme Court hear this case? The arguing counsel must be able to answer that in two or three sentences, pointing to the page of the judgment and the document in the paper book that proves the point.
That is why the paper book is built around the strongest ground, not the chronology. The list of dates is accurate and short. The questions of law are framed as real questions, not as statements of grievance. Annexures are only those that were before the High Court, properly marked, with translations where needed; new documents need a separate application and a reason why they were not filed earlier.
If the bench issues notice, it will often fix a short returnable date and may pass an interim order. Ask for the interim relief you actually need, such as status quo on a property or interim bail, rather than a broad stay that the court is unlikely to grant. Where the other side has filed a caveat, it will be present at the first hearing and the court may hear both sides briefly before deciding whether to issue notice at all.
Time limit: 90 days, and how delay is treated
An SLP against a High Court judgment must ordinarily be filed within 90 days from the date of the judgment or order. Where the High Court has refused a certificate of fitness to appeal under Article 134A, the limit is 60 days from that refusal. The time taken to obtain a certified copy of the judgment is excluded under the Limitation Act, but only if the copy was applied for in time.
In practice, SLPs are often filed with the copy downloaded from the High Court's website and an application for exemption from filing a certified copy, which the registry accepts on the undertaking that the certified copy will be filed later. Our guide on getting a certified copy of a Delhi High Court order explains how to apply online.
If the 90 days have passed, an application for condonation of delay is filed with the SLP. The court looks at whether the explanation is honest and credible. Government departments often file late and are sometimes forgiven; private parties with a vague explanation such as 'the papers were with the previous lawyer' frequently are not. Do not assume that because the court has the power to condone delay, it will.
Criminal SLPs: conviction, bail and the surrender rule
Criminal SLPs from the Delhi High Court usually challenge a judgment upholding a conviction, an order refusing to suspend a sentence, or an order on bail. Where the petitioner has been sentenced to imprisonment, the Supreme Court Rules require him to surrender before the SLP is heard, unless he files an application for exemption from surrendering and the court grants it. Many criminal SLPs succeed or fail at this first step, so the exemption application deserves as much care as the petition.
Complainants and the State also file SLPs, against acquittals upheld by the High Court or against orders granting bail. Cancellation of bail in the Supreme Court is not a second hearing of the bail application; the court looks for something seriously wrong in the order, such as ignoring the gravity of the offence or the accused's conduct.
There is also a statutory appeal, outside Article 136, where the High Court reverses an acquittal and sentences the accused to death, life imprisonment or ten years or more, under Article 134 and the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Act 1970. If your case falls in this category, the appeal is a matter of right, not leave. For the High Court stage, see our pages on appeals against conviction in the Delhi High Court and suspension of sentence during appeal.
Civil, property, tax and service SLPs
In civil cases the Supreme Court is most receptive where the High Court reversed concurrent findings, decided a second appeal without a real substantial question of law, or ignored a statutory bar. Property disputes involving specific performance, partition and title are common, as are matters where a High Court Division Bench has set aside a single judge's original side decree.
Before going to the Supreme Court, check whether a remedy remains in the High Court. Where a single judge's judgment can be taken to a Division Bench by Letters Patent Appeal, the Supreme Court generally expects that route to be used first. Our page on Letters Patent Appeals explains when this applies. A review in the High Court is another option where the judgment has an error apparent on the record; see our page on review of a Delhi High Court judgment.
In tax matters, the Income Tax Department and taxpayers both take High Court judgments to the Supreme Court, often where the same point is pending in many High Courts. Our page on income tax appeals from the ITAT covers the High Court stage. In service matters, a Division Bench judgment on a CAT order, or on a CAPF writ, can be taken up by SLP. Arbitration cases have a narrower path: the Supreme Court is cautious about interfering with awards that have survived Sections 34 and 37.
Other Supreme Court remedies: transfers, Article 32 and Article 142
Not every Supreme Court case is an SLP. A matrimonial case pending in one state can be transferred to another by a transfer petition under Section 25 of the Code of Civil Procedure; wives who are made to defend a divorce petition in a distant city often use this. Criminal cases can be transferred from one state to another under Section 446 BNSS (old Section 406 CrPC). For transfers within Delhi, the High Court has power; see our page on transfer of a matrimonial or criminal case.
Article 32 lets a person go straight to the Supreme Court for enforcement of a fundamental right. The court usually asks petitioners to go to the High Court under Article 226 first, unless the issue affects many people across states or needs an urgent decision at the national level.
Article 142 lets the Supreme Court pass any order needed to do complete justice. In Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan (2023) the Constitution Bench held that the Supreme Court can dissolve a marriage that has irretrievably broken down. High Courts and family courts cannot do this. Our guide on whether the Delhi High Court can grant divorce on irretrievable breakdown explains the difference.
Which court hears it, and at which stage
An SLP goes to the Supreme Court from any High Court, but the forum questions do not end there. The Supreme Court will want to know whether you exhausted the remedies in the High Court, whether a review was filed and decided, and whether a parallel proceeding is pending anywhere. The petition must disclose these facts honestly; concealment is a common reason for dismissal and for costs.
Within the Supreme Court, fresh matters are listed for admission before a bench of two judges, generally on the court's miscellaneous days, traditionally Mondays and Fridays. Constitutional questions go to larger benches. During the summer period, now called partial court working days, a smaller number of benches sit and urgent matters can be listed.
SLPs against interim orders of the Delhi High Court are possible but rarely entertained, because the Supreme Court prefers the High Court to decide the case. Where an interim order causes irreversible harm, such as demolition, deportation or loss of liberty, the court is more willing to step in. When Advocate B.K. Singh is asked about an SLP against an interim order, his first question is whether an early hearing date in the High Court would achieve the same result faster.
How an SLP moves from filing to hearing
Read the judgment against the record
The High Court judgment is read with the trial court record and the High Court paper book to identify the questions of law and the errors that matter. Weak grounds are dropped; three strong grounds carry more weight than twenty.
Prepare the paper book
The SLP paper book follows the format in the Supreme Court Rules: a synopsis and list of dates, the petition with questions of law and grounds, the impugned judgment, annexures that were before the High Court, an affidavit, and applications for interim relief, exemption or condonation as needed.
Filing by the Advocate-on-Record
The Advocate-on-Record e-files the petition and pays the court fee. The registry checks it and may point out defects, which must be cured within the time allowed or the matter can be listed for dismissal for non-prosecution.
Admission hearing
The matter is listed before a bench for admission. The court may dismiss it, or issue notice to the other side, often with an interim order such as stay of the judgment, status quo or interim bail. Many SLPs end here.
Pleadings after notice
The respondent files a counter affidavit and you file a rejoinder. The court may then hear the matter again and either dismiss it or grant leave.
Leave granted and final hearing
When leave is granted, the SLP becomes a civil or criminal appeal and waits for final hearing, which in many categories takes years. Interim orders usually continue in the meantime.
Judgment and implementation
The Supreme Court decides the appeal, sometimes setting aside the High Court judgment and sending the case back for a fresh hearing. Its judgment binds all courts in India.
Typical time and cost
| Stage | Typical time | Court fee and costs |
|---|---|---|
| Reading the judgment and advice | A few days after you share the full record | No court fee |
| Drafting the paper book | 2 to 4 weeks for a normal case; faster where liberty or demolition is at stake | Typing, translation of vernacular documents and copying charges |
| Filing and curing defects | 1 to 3 weeks | Court fee is modest compared to High Court original side suits; check the current court fee |
| Admission hearing | Commonly a few weeks after defects are cured; earlier on urgent mentioning | No further court fee |
| Pleadings after notice | Several months, often longer | No further court fee |
| Final hearing after leave | Often several years in civil appeals; criminal appeals with persons in custody may be heard sooner | No further court fee |
| Review petition | Within 30 days of the judgment | Court fee; usually decided in chambers |
Documents needed for an SLP
From the High Court
- Impugned judgment or order, with the date it was pronounced
- Certified copy, or proof that one was applied for
- The complete High Court paper book, including the petition or appeal and replies
- Order sheets of the High Court showing how the case was heard
From the lower court
- Trial court judgment, decree or conviction order
- Evidence and exhibits relied on, with English translations of Hindi or other documents
- In criminal cases, custody certificate from the jail showing period undergone
From you
- Identity proof and address for the affidavit
- Vakalatnama in favour of the Advocate-on-Record
- Details of any other case on the same subject, here or abroad
- For NRIs, an affidavit attested at an Indian mission or as the rules allow
A made-up example: the Dwarka flat and the reversed decree
Here's a made-up example. Pooja, a schoolteacher in Dwarka, agreed in 2017 to buy a flat for Rs 85 lakh and paid Rs 20 lakh as advance. The seller backed out when prices rose. The trial court decreed specific performance, finding that she had the funds ready, shown by a sanctioned home loan and her bank statements. The seller's first appeal was allowed by the Delhi High Court, which held that she had not proved readiness and willingness, without discussing the loan sanction letter at all.
Her SLP is filed on the 80th day, with the downloaded judgment and an exemption application. It raises two questions: whether the High Court could reverse a finding of fact without dealing with the evidence on which the trial court relied, and how readiness and willingness is to be judged after the 2018 amendment to the Specific Relief Act made specific performance the rule. At the admission hearing the Supreme Court issues notice and directs status quo on the flat, so the seller cannot sell it while the case is pending.
A year later leave is granted and the matter becomes a civil appeal. Pooja keeps her loan sanction alive and files an affidavit that she remains ready to pay. Her appeal is still pending, but the flat is protected. If the High Court had considered the evidence and reached a different view, the Supreme Court might well have dismissed her petition on the first day.
If the SLP is dismissed: review, curative and the High Court
A review petition against a Supreme Court order must be filed within 30 days and is usually decided by the same judges in chambers, without oral hearing. It succeeds only where there is an error apparent on the face of the record, not where you disagree with the result. A curative petition, recognised in Rupa Ashok Hurra v. Ashok Hurra (2002), is available only in rare cases such as a breach of natural justice, and needs a certificate from a Senior Advocate.
A dismissal of an SLP at the admission stage by a short order does not mean the Supreme Court has approved the High Court's reasoning. In Kunhayammed v. State of Kerala (2000) the court explained that such a dismissal does not merge the High Court judgment into the Supreme Court's order, so a review petition can still be considered by the High Court in suitable cases. If the dismissal order gives reasons, or leave was granted and the appeal decided, the position is different.
If you have won in the High Court, the other side may file an SLP. You can file a caveat in the Supreme Court, so that no interim order is passed without hearing you. This is common after wins against government departments, which file SLPs as a matter of course.
Mistakes that waste a Supreme Court petition
The first is treating the SLP as a third round on facts. A petition that copies the High Court appeal memo and argues every finding is read quickly and dismissed. The judges hear dozens of admission matters in a morning; the petition must show its point in the synopsis and the first few grounds.
The second is ignoring the remaining High Court remedies. Filing an SLP directly against a single judge's judgment when a Letters Patent Appeal lay, or while a review is pending in the High Court, usually ends with the petition being dismissed or withdrawn with liberty.
The third is filing late with a weak explanation, or concealing a previous petition. The fourth is forgetting the surrender rule in criminal cases and arranging the exemption application only after the petition is listed. Each of these can end a case that had merit.
Not every loss in the High Court should go further. Sometimes the honest advice is that the judgment, though disappointing, is unlikely to be disturbed, and the money and time are better spent on settlement or on complying with the order.
NRIs, outstation clients and what to do this week
NRIs and clients outside Delhi can pursue an SLP without travelling. The vakalatnama and affidavit can be signed abroad and attested as the rules allow, documents can be shared electronically, and the hearing can be followed online where the court permits. Our page for NRI and overseas clients explains how instructions and attestation work in practice.
This week, note the date of the High Court judgment and count 90 days from it. Apply for a certified copy if one has not been applied for. Collect the full High Court paper book and the trial court record, including translations where the documents are in Hindi or another language. If you are in custody or out on suspended sentence, tell your lawyer at once, because the surrender question must be dealt with before filing.
If you won in the High Court and expect the other side to appeal, consider a caveat now. Our guide on going to the Supreme Court against a Delhi High Court judgment covers these early steps in more detail, and our page on the Delhi High Court explains the stage before the SLP.
Talking to us about an SLP
The firm reads the High Court judgment and record, gives a frank view on whether an SLP is worth filing, prepares the paper book and works with an Advocate-on-Record for filing. Fees are discussed at the first meeting and agreed in writing, stage by stage. Meetings can be held at our Dwarka or Vaishali offices or online.
For advice on a Delhi High Court judgment you want to challenge or defend in the Supreme Court, or for updates on the law, contact Advocate B.K. Singh.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the official website of the Supreme Court of India?
No. This is the website of a private law firm, B.K. Singh & Associates. For official case status, cause lists and judgments, use the Supreme Court's website, sci.gov.in.
What is the last date to file an SLP against a High Court judgment?
Ordinarily 90 days from the date of the judgment, or 60 days from the High Court's refusal of a certificate under Article 134A. Time spent obtaining a certified copy applied for in time is excluded. A late petition needs a credible application for condonation of delay.
Can any lawyer file a case in the Supreme Court?
No. Only an Advocate-on-Record can file and act for a party in the Supreme Court. Other advocates, including the counsel who handled your High Court case, can argue on the Advocate-on-Record's instructions.
How many SLPs are actually admitted?
Only a small share of SLPs are admitted; most are dismissed at the first hearing. The Supreme Court grants leave where there is a substantial question of law or a serious injustice. A frank assessment before filing saves time and money.
Do I have to surrender before filing a criminal SLP?
If you have been sentenced to imprisonment, the Supreme Court Rules require surrender unless the court grants an exemption. An application for exemption from surrendering is filed with the SLP. The court decides it at the first hearing.
Can the Supreme Court stay the High Court judgment while the SLP is pending?
Yes. At the admission hearing, if notice is issued, the court can stay the judgment, order status quo or grant interim bail. Interim relief is discretionary and depends on the harm that would otherwise be caused.
What happens if my SLP is dismissed?
You can file a review petition in the Supreme Court within 30 days, though success is rare. If the SLP was dismissed by a short order without reasons, a review in the High Court may still be possible. A curative petition is available only in exceptional cases.
Can I file an SLP against an interim order of the Delhi High Court?
It is possible, but the Supreme Court rarely interferes with interim orders and prefers the High Court to decide the case. It is more willing where the interim order causes irreversible harm, such as demolition or loss of liberty. An early hearing in the High Court is often the faster route.