A Special Leave Petition under Article 136 of the Constitution does not reach a Bench the day it is filed. Under the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, it first lives in the registry: it receives a diary number, undergoes scrutiny, sheds its defects, acquires an SLP number on registration, is categorised by subject, and only then appears in a cause list. Litigants who understand this sequence can read the Court’s online status page intelligently and know what each entry means. This explainer offers a single continuous map of those stages, with what the litigant sees at each one.
Two doors into the registry
A Special Leave Petition enters the Supreme Court either through the e-filing portal or by physical presentation at the filing counter. In both modes the paper-book must conform to the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 — which prescribe the form of the petition, the certified copy of the impugned judgment, the annexures, and filing through an advocate-on-record for represented parties — and in both modes the first thing the petition receives is a diary number. The diary number is a receipt, not a case number: it records that papers of a particular description were presented on a particular day. From this point, the matter can be tracked on the Court’s website by diary number and year, and every later event in the registry attaches to that entry.
This explainer deliberately does not re-tread how an SLP is drafted, which a separate piece on this site covers; the focus here is what happens to the petition once it leaves counsel’s hands.
The timeline, stage by stage
1. Filing and diary number
The petition is e-filed or presented physically with the court fee. The registry assigns a diary number the same day; the litigant sees the matter appear on the case-status page as an unregistered diary entry.
2. Scrutiny and defect notification
The registry scrutinises the petition against the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 and notifies defects — deficiencies in the certified copy, annexures, court fee, affidavits or formatting — to the advocate-on-record. The litigant sees the status change to a defect-notified stage, with the list of defects available online.
3. Curing and refiling
The defects are cured and the petition is refiled within the time the Rules allow; delay in refiling beyond that time itself requires condonation. Detailed treatment of defects and curing is in a separate explainer on this site.
4. Registration
Once scrutiny is complete, the petition is registered and receives an SLP number — civil or criminal, with its year. The litigant sees the diary number ripen into a case number, and all later orders carry that number.
5. Chamber and Registrar matters
Certain applications the Rules assign to the Registrar or to a Judge sitting in Chambers — typically procedural matters such as condonation of delay in refiling, exemptions and like applications — are disposed of at this level, without the matter going to a regular Bench.
6. Categorisation and listing
The registry assigns the matter a subject category from the Court’s classification — service, land, matrimonial, criminal and so on — which determines the Bench before which it is listed under the roster. An office report is prepared, and the matter enters the cause list for a miscellaneous day hearing.
7. First hearing and after
The Bench may dismiss the petition, issue notice, or grant leave. On notice, the matter becomes an “after notice” matter awaiting service and counter affidavits; on grant of leave, it is converted into an appeal and travels to the regular hearing list.
Limitation, condonation and urgency
On limitation, one paragraph suffices because a separate explainer on this site deals with it fully: the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 ordinarily require the petition within ninety days from the judgment or order impugned, and within sixty days where a certificate of fitness was sought from the High Court and refused, counting from the order of refusal. A petition beyond these periods is accompanied by an application for condonation of delay, which is listed along with the petition and is frequently the first question the Bench asks. Where genuine urgency exists — an imminent demolition, auction or surrender date — the Rules and practice permit verification and mentioning for early listing, a subject covered in its own explainer here.
The office report and the caveat
Two registry documents shape the first hearing. The office report is the registry’s note placed below the cause-list entry, recording whether the petition is within limitation, whether service is complete, whether requisite applications accompany it, and any other matter the Bench should know before the matter is called. Experienced counsel read the office report before the hearing, because it flags exactly what the Court will ask.
The caveat belongs to the respondent. A party in whose favour the High Court has ruled, and who apprehends an SLP, may lodge a caveat so that no order is passed without hearing it. The registry connects the caveat to the petition when filed; the petitioner must serve the caveator with the petition, and the caveator’s advocate appears at the very first listing. For a respondent, the caveat is the difference between learning of an interim order from the opposite party and being present when it is sought.
What the respondent sees “after notice”
When notice issues, the registry transmits it to the respondents in the manner the Rules provide, and the matter is adjourned to await service. The respondent who is served enters appearance through an advocate-on-record and may file a counter affidavit; the petitioner may rejoin. The matter then returns to the list as an after-notice matter for hearing on whether leave should be granted. It bears repetition that notice is an invitation to be heard, not a finding: a large proportion of petitions are dismissed after notice, with or without reasons, and interim protection granted at the notice stage lapses with the petition unless the order says otherwise.
Most anxiety about a pending SLP dissolves once the stages are read in order: a diary number is only a receipt, a defect notification is routine rather than ominous, registration is the true birth of the case, and the office report tells the parties what the first hearing will actually be about. Watching the case-status page with this map in hand lets a litigant follow the matter as the registry itself does.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a diary number and an SLP number?
The diary number is assigned the moment a petition is presented, physically or through e-filing, and merely records receipt; the matter is not yet a case. The SLP number is assigned on registration, after the registry’s scrutiny is complete and defects are cured. Until registration, the matter is tracked on the Supreme Court website by its diary number and year.
What is the limitation period for filing an SLP?
Under the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, a special leave petition is ordinarily to be filed within ninety days from the date of the judgment or order challenged, and within sixty days from the order refusing a certificate of fitness to appeal where such a certificate was sought. A petition beyond time must be accompanied by an application for condonation of delay stating the grounds, which the Court decides before or along with the petition.
What does “after notice” mean for a respondent?
When the Court, on the first hearing, considers the petition worth examining further, it issues notice to the respondents. The matter then appears as an “after notice” matter: the respondent is served, may enter appearance through an advocate-on-record, and may file a counter affidavit. Issuance of notice does not mean leave has been granted; the Court may still dismiss the petition after hearing both sides.
What is a caveat and why do respondents file one?
A caveat is a formal request lodged by a party apprehending that an SLP will be filed against a judgment in its favour, asking that no order be passed without hearing the caveator. Once a caveat is on record, the registry links it to the petition when filed, the petitioner must serve the caveator, and the caveator is heard even at the very first listing, preventing ex parte interim orders.