When the Supreme Court is the right forum

The Supreme Court of India is the apex court with (i) original jurisdiction in disputes between States or Centre-States, and writs under Article 32 for fundamental rights; (ii) appellate jurisdiction from High Courts in civil, criminal and constitutional matters under Articles 132–134; (iii) special leave under Article 136 — the most-used discretionary appellate route from any judgment of any court or tribunal; (iv) review jurisdiction under Article 137; (v) curative jurisdiction in exceptional cases.

Special Leave Petition (SLP)

Article 136 SLP is the workhorse of Supreme Court practice. Filed within 90 days of High Court judgment (or 60 days for criminal). Grounds must show substantial question of law of general importance, manifest injustice, or violation of natural justice. The SC admits about 5% of SLPs filed. Counter-affidavit, rejoinder, and oral hearing follow over 1–4 years.

Writ jurisdiction under Article 32

Article 32 (“the right to constitutional remedies”) is itself a fundamental right. Writs under Article 32 lie only for enforcement of fundamental rights (Part III), not for ordinary legal rights. The Supreme Court has been increasingly directing aggrieved parties to first approach the High Court under Article 226 unless the matter has clear pan-India significance.

Review and curative petitions

Review under Article 137 must be filed within 30 days, decided by the same bench, on grounds of error apparent on the face of record or discovery of new important evidence. Curative jurisdiction — recognised in Rupa Ashok Hurra v. Ashok Hurra (2002) — is the absolutely last remedy, available only on the grounds of (i) breach of natural justice, (ii) bench abuse, or (iii) miscarriage of justice. Senior counsel certification is required.

Practical workflow from Kota

For SC matters, we work with empanelled Advocates-on-Record (AOR) in Delhi. The Kota team handles: drafting of grounds, case management, evidence collation, brief preparation, and coordination with the senior counsel. Filing, mention rotation, and court appearance is done by the AOR. Clients can join hearings via VC links increasingly used post-COVID.