SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION
Under Article 136, the Constitution of India gives power to the Supreme Court to grant special permission or leave to an aggrieved party to appeal against an order passed in any of the lower courts or tribunals in India.
MEANING OF SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION
A special leave petition (SLP) means that an individual takes special permission to be heard in an appeal against any high court/tribunal verdict. Thus it is not an appeal but a petition filed for an appeal. So after an SLP is filed, the Supreme Court may hear the matter and if it deems fit, it may grant the ‘leave’ and convert that petition into an ‘appeal’. SLP shall then become an Appeal and the Court will hear the matter and pass a judgment.
SLP CAN BE PRESENTED UNDER FOLLOWING CIRCUMSTANCE
It can be filed against any judgment or decree or order of any high court /tribunal in the territory of India, or
It can be filed in case a high court refuses to grant the certificate of fitness for appeal to the Supreme Court of India.
TIME LIMIT TO FILE SLP
It can be filed against any judgment of a high court within 90 days from the date of judgment, or
It can be filed within 60 days against the order of a high court refusing to grant the certificate of fitness for appeal to the Supreme Court.
WHO CAN FILE SLP
Any aggrieved party can file an SLP against the judgment or order of refusal of grant of certificate.
DISCRETIONARY POWER
Appeal to Supreme Court is not a matter of right but it is a matter of privilege which only the Supreme Court will grant to any individual if there exists an important constitutional or legal issue involved. Appeals are regulated by the Constitution of India and Supreme Court Rules, 2013.
According to Article 141 of the Indian Constitution, the Supreme Court’s judgment is declared as law of the land and is binding on all courts in India.
