Special Leave Petition under Article 136

Introduction

Article 136 is plenary in text and parsimonious in practice. The Court entertains a small fraction of SLPs filed, often dismissing at the threshold without reasons.

The drafting brief is the inverse of a regular appeal: do not retell the case; argue the leave question. Identify the substantial question of law, the conflict, or the perversity, and put it at the front. Everything else supports that opening claim.

When to Use This Prompt

• The impugned order raises a substantial question of law of general importance.
• Manifest miscarriage of justice or conflict between High Courts.
• All statutory remedies exhausted or not efficacious.
• Within 90 days (60 days against Article 226 orders).

Statutory & Case-Law Backdrop

Article 136 confers discretionary jurisdiction. Leading authorities: Pritam Singh v. State, AIR 1950 SC 169, and Kunhayammed v. State of Kerala, (2000) 6 SCC 359, on doctrine of merger and dismissal in limine.

The Prompt

Paste into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. Replace every bracketed placeholder with your specific facts before generating.

Act as Supreme Court counsel. Draft a Special Leave Petition under Article 136 against the [JUDGEMENT/ORDER] dated [DATE] of the High Court of [STATE] in [CASE NUMBER].

Petitioner: [NAME, STATUS BELOW]
Respondent(s): [NAMES]
Subject matter: [DESCRIPTION]

Include: (1) Synopsis and list of dates (max 4 pages); (2) Questions of law (3-6 substantial questions of general importance); (3) Grounds for special leave — lettered, addressing the Pritam Singh / Kunhayammed standard; (4) Prayer for leave, stay of impugned order, and interim relief; (5) Affidavit in support; (6) Exemption application if certified copy unavailable.

Tone: restrained, doctrinal, addressed to a Bench that grants leave only in exceptional cases.

Anatomy of the Draft

Why the prompt is built the way it is — section by section.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• ×Treating the SLP as a regular appeal.
• ×Bulky synopses that bury the question of law.
• ×Generic grounds copy-pasted from earlier petitions.
• ×Mis-computing limitation.
• ×Asking for stay without separate reasoned case.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

The SLP is an argument about why the Court should engage at all. Lead with the leave question, frame substantial questions, write restrained grounds, treat the synopsis as the most important page.