A Special Leave Petition (SLP) is a constitutional provision and a unique mechanism that grants the Supreme Court of India an extraordinary, discretionary power to hear appeals. The authority for the SLP is rooted in Article 136 of the Constitution of India, 1950, which allows the Supreme Court to grant special leave to appeal against any judgment, decree, determination, sentence, or order passed by any court or tribunal in the territory of India. The only exception is for judgments or orders passed by any court or tribunal relating to the Armed Forces.
The concept's origin can be traced to the Government of India Act, 1935, where the phrase "special leave to appeal" appeared, and it was imported from Section 208 of that Act. The provision was created to serve as a residual power, ensuring that the apex court could intervene in exceptional circumstances to correct a gross injustice or a substantial question of law, even when no statutory right of appeal exists.
The mechanism is not a matter of right but a privilege, as the Supreme Court may, in its discretion, refuse to grant leave to appeal. An aggrieved party must file the SLP typically within 90 days of the judgment or order of the lower court. If the Supreme Court grants the "leave," the SLP is converted into a regular appeal, which is the second stage of the process. The Supreme Court clarified the scope of this power in Pritam Singh v. The State (1950), holding that special leave should be granted only in exceptional and special circumstances. Furthermore, in Kunhayammed v. State of Kerala (2000), the Court held that the dismissal of an SLP without a reasoned order does not amount to an affirmation of the lower court's reasoning. The SLP connects to the Supreme Court's broader appellate jurisdiction, which is also governed by other constitutional provisions like Article 132 (Constitutional matters) and Article 133 (Civil matters). There have been no recent amendments to Article 136 itself, but the increasing volume of SLP filings has led to judicial scrutiny and proposals for reform to manage the Supreme Court's docket.