Supreme Court Lawyer in Delhi: Filing an SLP or Writ, Step by Step

What does a Supreme Court lawyer in Delhi actually do?

A Supreme Court lawyer turns a lost case into a short, focused petition that a bench can understand in the few minutes it gives to a fresh matter. That means reading the full record, picking the one or two points of law that might interest the Court, writing a synopsis that makes those points obvious, and arguing them in a hearing that may last three to five minutes. Most of the work is done before anyone stands up in court.

There are usually two roles, sometimes three. The Advocate-on-Record files the petition, signs it, deals with the Registry and is answerable to the Court for the papers. The arguing counsel presents the case at the hearing. In larger or more difficult matters, a senior advocate may be briefed to argue. One person can be both Advocate-on-Record and arguing counsel, but often these are different people working together.

The lawyer also gives you the honest view of your chances before anything is filed. A good number of people who come to us after losing in the High Court are better served by a review in the High Court, a settlement, or simply moving on. We say so when that is the case.

How do I file an SLP in the Supreme Court?

You file an SLP through an Advocate-on-Record, within 90 days of the High Court judgment, with a paper book containing the synopsis and list of dates, the petition with questions of law and grounds, the impugned judgment and the relevant annexures from the record. The Supreme Court Rules 2013 set out the format, and the Registry will not accept a petition that departs from it.

You do not need to wait for the certified copy before the drafting starts. If the certified copy is not ready when the petition has to be filed, the Advocate-on-Record files an application for exemption from filing the certified copy, with the uncertified copy of the judgment downloaded from the High Court website, and files the certified copy later. Time spent getting the certified copy is excluded from limitation, so keep the application receipt.

The petition can be filed physically at the filing counter or electronically through the Supreme Court's e-filing portal, which is now the usual route. Once filed, the matter gets a diary number. That number is how you track the case on the Supreme Court website until it is registered and given a case number.

Filing an SLP, stage by stage

This is how a typical civil or criminal SLP moves in our office, from the day you bring the judgment to the first hearing.

1. Collect the record

   Advocate Sadhna Singh collects the impugned judgment, the High Court file, the trial court record and lower court judgments. Where the case came from a district court such as Tis Hazari, Saket or the Ghaziabad district court, we obtain certified copies of the relevant depositions and exhibits.

2. Opinion on merits

   Advocate B.K. Singh reads the judgment and record and tells you whether a question of law arises and how strong it is. If he does not think the Court is likely to issue notice, he says so before you spend money on filing.

3. Drafting

   The synopsis and list of dates, the SLP, the grounds for interim relief, the application for stay, and any application for condonation of delay or exemption are drafted. You review the list of dates for factual accuracy.

4. Affidavit and vakalatnama

   You sign the affidavit supporting the petition and the vakalatnama in favour of the Advocate-on-Record. If you are outside Delhi, these can be signed and attested where you are and sent by courier.

5. Filing and diary number

   The Advocate-on-Record files the petition and pays the court fee. A diary number is generated, and the Registry begins scrutiny.

6. Curing defects

   The Registry issues a defect list. The Advocate-on-Record cures the defects, which may involve refiling pages, adding translations or correcting the index, and the matter is registered.

7. Listing and first hearing

   The registered matter is listed before a bench. Counsel argues for notice and interim relief. We send you the order the same day it is uploaded.

What goes into an SLP paper book

The format is fixed by the Supreme Court Rules 2013. Ask us for the current format if you want to see a sample; we do not host forms as downloads yet.

Do I need an Advocate-on-Record, and how is that different from my lawyer?

Yes. Under the Supreme Court Rules 2013, only an Advocate-on-Record can file a petition or act for a party in the Supreme Court. If your existing lawyer is not an Advocate-on-Record, they can still argue the case, but the filing must be done through one. A party can appear in person instead, though the Registry first checks whether that is workable, and few people find it practical.

In our practice, Advocate B.K. Singh works on the merits and argues, and an Advocate-on-Record we work with regularly files and signs. You sign one vakalatnama in favour of the Advocate-on-Record, who then records the appearance of the arguing counsel. We tell you at the start who each person is, what they are responsible for and what each part costs, so there are no surprises when the matter is listed.

If your lawyer from the High Court wants to stay involved, that is often useful, because they know the record. We are happy to work alongside them.

Who does what in a Supreme Court case

What are defects in a Supreme Court filing, and how long does curing them take?

Defects are problems the Registry finds in the petition when it checks it against the Rules: a missing page, an annexure without a translation, an incorrect court fee, a wrong cause title, a missing affidavit, or a page that is illegible. Every fresh filing goes through this scrutiny, and almost every filing has at least one minor defect.

The Advocate-on-Record receives the defect list and must cure it within the period the Registry allows. Simple defects are cured in a day or two. Translations of long Hindi documents, such as depositions from a district court, take longer, which is why we start them early. If defects are not cured in time, the matter can be placed before the Registrar and may be dismissed for non-prosecution, which then needs an application to restore it.

Most delay at this stage is avoidable. A paper book prepared carefully the first time, with translations ready and pages legible, moves to listing much faster than one that goes back and forth.

When will my case be listed in the Supreme Court?

Once defects are cured and the matter is registered, a fresh SLP is usually listed for a first hearing within a few weeks. The Supreme Court decides listing through its computerised system and the Registry, and the exact date depends on the subject category, the bench assigned to that category, and how many fresh matters are pending. We cannot fix a date for you, and nobody honestly can.

Fresh matters are generally heard on the Court's miscellaneous days, traditionally Mondays and Fridays, while regular hearings of admitted matters are on other days. The Court has changed its listing practice from time to time, so we follow the current circulars. The advance list and the daily cause list are published on the Supreme Court website, and we inform you as soon as your matter appears in either.

Cases can also be listed and then not reached, because a bench runs out of time. That is common. The matter then comes up again on a later date, usually without any action needed from you.

How do I get urgent listing in the Supreme Court?

Urgent listing is sought through a mention, made in the manner the Court currently prescribes, usually by a letter or mention memo submitted by the Advocate-on-Record explaining the urgency, and sometimes by oral mentioning before the bench. The Court decides whether the matter is urgent enough to be listed out of turn.

Real urgency is something that will happen before the normal listing date and cannot be undone: an imminent arrest, a demolition fixed for a date, a dispossession, a deportation, an examination or admission deadline, or a person in custody whose bail has been refused. A matter is not urgent just because the client is anxious or because the High Court judgment is wrong.

Asking for urgent listing in a matter that is not urgent can harm your credibility with the bench. We explain to clients when urgency exists and when it does not, and in genuine cases we prepare the petition so it can be filed and mentioned within a day or two.

Filing a writ petition in the Supreme Court: what is different?

A writ petition under Article 32 is filed by the same Advocate-on-Record process, but it starts from facts rather than from a judgment. The petition must show which fundamental right is affected, what the respondent authority did or failed to do, what representation you made, and why the Supreme Court rather than the High Court should hear it.

The last point decides many writs at the first hearing. If the issue is local and the High Court can give the same relief, the Court commonly disposes of the petition with liberty to approach the High Court under Article 226. That is not a loss on merits, but it does cost time. We therefore advise filing in the Supreme Court only where the issue crosses state lines, challenges a central law or policy, or is connected to matters the Supreme Court is already hearing.

Habeas corpus petitions, where a person is in illegal detention, are an exception: they are taken up quickly in both the High Court and the Supreme Court, and the choice of forum depends on the facts.

If you are in Noida or Ghaziabad: SLPs from the Allahabad High Court

People living in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad are under the Allahabad High Court, not the Delhi High Court. The trial courts are the Gautam Buddh Nagar court at Surajpur and the Ghaziabad district court, and appeals and writs go to Allahabad (or its Lucknow bench for some districts). An SLP against an Allahabad High Court judgment is filed in the same Supreme Court in Delhi, in the same way.

The practical difference is the record. Pleadings and evidence from courts in Uttar Pradesh are often in Hindi, and the Supreme Court requires English translations of every document relied on. Certified copies from Allahabad also take time to obtain. We plan for both from the first week, and where the client's lawyer in Allahabad handled the case, we work with them to get the complete record.

Our Vaishali office, near Vaishali Metro, is often the easier place for clients from Ghaziabad and Noida to meet us. Details of both offices are on the offices page.

How long does each stage take? General timelines

These are ranges from ordinary experience, not promises. The Court controls listing, and individual cases vary.

Do I have to come to the Supreme Court for the hearing?

Usually not. The hearing is argued by counsel, and the parties are not expected to attend, except in matters such as matrimonial mediation or where the Court specifically directs a party's presence. Many clients choose to come for the first hearing, and that is fine.

Litigants need an entry pass to enter the Supreme Court premises, which can be obtained through the Court's online e-pass system or through the Advocate-on-Record's office. Carry a government photo ID. The Court also allows hybrid hearings in many matters, so counsel may appear by video conferencing on some dates.

Orders are uploaded on the Supreme Court website, usually the same day or the next. We send you a copy with a short note on what it means and what happens next, because Supreme Court orders are often brief and can be hard to read without context.

Should I file a caveat in the Supreme Court if I won in the High Court?

If you won in the High Court and expect the other side to go to the Supreme Court, a caveat makes sure you are told about their SLP and can be represented at the first hearing. Without a caveat, the Court may grant an interim stay against you at a hearing you did not know about, and you would then have to apply to vacate it.

A caveat is filed through an Advocate-on-Record against the specific High Court judgment. When the other side files an SLP, they must serve the caveator, and the caveator's counsel can appear at the admission hearing. This is particularly useful where the High Court judgment gives you possession, money or a job, and the other side is likely to seek a stay. It is a small step that can save a lot of trouble.

What does it cost to file a case in the Supreme Court?

The cost depends on the stage and the complexity of the case, not on a fixed rate. It is made up of the Advocate-on-Record's fee, the arguing counsel's fee, a senior advocate's fee if one is briefed, the court fee, and expenses like translation, typing, paper books and certified copies. The court fee in the Supreme Court is modest; the professional fees are the main cost.

We discuss fees at the first meeting and agree them in writing, stage by stage: opinion, drafting and filing, the first hearing, and later hearings if notice is issued. Court fees and other out-of-pocket costs are separate. This lets you decide at each point whether to continue. If the case is dismissed at the first hearing, you have not paid for stages that never happened.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee provides legal aid to eligible persons. We can tell you if you are likely to qualify.

Can I still file an SLP after 90 days?

Yes, with an application for condonation of delay, but the delay must be explained honestly and in detail. The affidavit should account for the period after limitation expired: when the certified copy came, when you consulted a lawyer, any illness, any period of custody, any documents that had to be traced. Vague reasons such as "the petitioner was busy" or "the file was misplaced" do not work.

The Court is more lenient with government departments and with persons in custody, and less lenient where the other side has acted on the High Court judgment in the meantime, for example by selling the property. Long delays of several hundred days are sometimes condoned and sometimes not; the outcome depends on the explanation and on the merits. It is always better not to need this application.

Filing mistakes that slow a Supreme Court case down

• Untranslated documents. Every document in Hindi or another language must be translated into English. Leaving this to the defect stage adds weeks.
• A list of dates with gaps or errors. The bench reads it first. A wrong date or a missing event undermines everything that follows.
• Annexing the whole record. Too many annexures make the petition harder to read. Only documents the argument relies on should be annexed.
• Not checking for a caveat. If the other side has filed a caveat, they must be served before the hearing. Missing this can lead to an adjournment.
• Signing papers in a hurry. The affidavit is sworn by you. Read the list of dates and the facts before signing, because you are responsible for them.
• Losing the certified copy receipt. It proves when you applied, which affects how limitation is counted.

How we work on Supreme Court filings

Advocate Sadhna Singh will usually be your first point of contact. She takes the history from you, makes a list of what papers exist and what are missing, and keeps the file moving with the Advocate-on-Record. You will hear from her when the defect list comes, when the matter is registered, when it is listed and when the order is uploaded.

Advocate B.K. Singh reads the record himself and drafts or settles the petition. He tends to begin with one question: did the court below decide a point of law, or did it simply weigh the evidence differently? The answer usually decides whether a Supreme Court filing is worth the cost. You can read more about his practice on his profile page and about Advocate Sadhna Singh on hers.

The firm also handles the matters that often sit behind a Supreme Court case: bail, civil and property disputes, service and CAT matters and tribunal appeals. To send papers before a meeting, use our online enquiry form.

What to do this week if you want to file in the Supreme Court

• Download the uncertified copy of the High Court judgment from the court's website
• Apply for the certified copy and keep the receipt
• Count 90 days from the date of the judgment and note the last date
• Gather the pleadings, evidence and lower court judgments
• Start English translations of key Hindi documents
• Check whether the other side has filed or is likely to file a caveat
• Book a meeting so the record can be read before drafting begins