05 Guides · Article 5 of 5
The Special Leave Petition Format, Part by Part, and What the Registry Rejects
This article is general information about procedure. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace the judgment of an Advocate-on-Record or the discretion of the Supreme Court Registry.
The Special Leave Petition format is governed strictly by Form No. 28 appended to the Rules (Fourth Schedule to the Supreme Court Rules, 2013), Order XXI for civil matters, Order XXII for criminal matters, and the Handbook on Practice and Procedure and Office Procedure. A filing set is compiled as a paper book where every part—from the listing proforma to the vakalatnama—must comply with explicit procedural requirements before it can be registered by the Registry.
Why Is the Prescribed Format Strictly Enforced by the Registry?
Before any Special Leave Petition is placed before a Bench of the Supreme Court of India, it undergoes administrative scrutiny by the Registry’s Scrutiny Assistants. This examination is strictly procedural. Scrutiny Assistants inspect the document set against the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, Chapter XI of the Handbook on Practice and Procedure and Office Procedure, and Registry circulars to verify that all mandatory components are present, correctly ordered, legible, and consistent.
When a filing set deviates from prescribed form requirements, the Registry flags it with an office objection (defect). Under Chapter XI of the Handbook, a cumulative time period of twenty-eight days in aggregate is allowed to cure defects and re-file the petition. The petition cannot be registered or listed for hearing until every cited defect is cured.
For an overview of the broader post-filing timeline, office objections, and the cure cycle, read our companion guide: What happens after a Special Leave Petition is filed in the Supreme Court?.
How Must the Petition Set Be Arranged?
The Supreme Court Rules, 2013 and the Handbook on Practice and Procedure and Office Procedure govern the physical arrangement of the paper book.
Under Order XXI Rule 3(1)(f) of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, the document set must be arranged in the following prescribed order:
- List of dates
- Certified copy of the impugned judgment and order
- The petition in Form No. 28 appended to the Rules
- The appendix of relevant provisions
- The annexures
Under the Handbook on Practice and Procedure and Office Procedure (Chapter X, item 23), the case file and paper book carry one common index with running pagination: the office report on limitation and the Listing Proforma come first, then the list of dates, the impugned order, the petition with its affidavit, the appendix and the annexures, followed by the applications; the filing memo and the vakalatnama are indexed after them, in the part of the file that does not form part of the paper book.
Read our overview guide on the petition's nature and scope: Special Leave Petition: What It Is and What It Contains.
What Does Form No. 28 Require and What Causes Rejection?
Form No. 28 appended to the Rules (Fourth Schedule to the Supreme Court Rules, 2013) forms the core structure of every Special Leave Petition filed under Article 136 of the Constitution of India. Under Order XXI Rule 3(1)(a) for civil matters and Order XXII Rule 2(1) for criminal matters, every petition for special leave to appeal must be prepared in Form No. 28 appended to the Rules.
1. The Cause Title
The cause title identifies the jurisdiction, the parties, and the court whose order is challenged.
The Prescribed Rule: The cause title must state the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of India, name the petitioners and respondents with complete addresses and status in the court below, and specify the judgment or order impugned.
What the Registry Flags: Inconsistency across the filing set. If a respondent’s name, spelling, order of appearance, or address in the cause title of the petition differs from the cause title in the impugned judgment, the memo of parties, or the vakalatnama, the Scrutiny Assistant flags a cause-title discrepancy defect.
2. Questions of Law, Grounds, and Prayer (Interim Relief)
Form No. 28 requires the petition to set forth the questions of law, the statement of facts, the grounds, and the prayer clause.
Questions of Law & Grounds: The petition must set out the questions of law arising for consideration and the grounds relied upon, arranged in numbered paragraphs.
Interim Relief: Under Order XXI Rule 3(1)(a), no separate application for interim relief need be filed; interim prayer, if any, should be incorporated in Form No. 28 appended to the Rules.
What the Registry Flags: Omission of a specific prayer for special leave, failure to frame distinct questions of law, or submitting unnecessary separate applications for interim relief when the interim prayer is required to be incorporated directly within Form No. 28 appended to the Rules.
3. Mandatory Declarations
Order XXI Rules 3(2), 3(4) and 3(5) and Rule 5 require specific statements within the petition set:
Rule 3(2): A statement whether any other petition seeking leave to appeal has been filed by the petitioner against the impugned judgment or order and, if so, with what result, supported by an affidavit. The Registry does not entertain a petition that omits it.
Rule 3(3): The consequence of non-disclosure — where an earlier petition against the same judgment and its dismissal are not disclosed, the Court dismisses the pending petition or revokes leave already granted.
Rule 3(4): A statement whether the matter was contested in the court or tribunal below and, if so, the names and addresses of the contesting parties, in the statement of facts.
Rule 3(5): A statement whether a letters patent appeal or writ appeal lay against the impugned order and, if so, whether that remedy was availed of.
Rule 5: Annexures are certified copies of documents forming part of the record of the court or tribunal below; an uncertified copy is accepted only if affirmed as a true copy by affidavit — the declaration on the Court's own form.
What the Registry Flags: Omission of any of these prescribed statements, or statements with missing details or unexecuted blanks.
How Must the List of Dates and Synopsis Be Formatted?
Under Order XXI Rule 3(1)(b), every Special Leave Petition must be accompanied by a list of dates in chronological order with the relevant material facts or events set out against each date. The synopsis that precedes it is a matter of the Court's practice and the Handbook, not of the Rule (the Handbook, Chapter XIV, item 12, proviso, treats "the list of dates/synopsis" as one document).
The Prescribed Rule: The list of dates must chronicle events in strict chronological order. The synopsis must present a concise summary of the case and the main legal issues.
What the Registry Flags: A list of dates that contains gaps in chronology without explanation, dates that contradict the record of the impugned judgment, or a synopsis that fails to state the core points raised in the petition.
What Are the Requirements for the Impugned Judgment and Order?
Under Order XXI Rule 4, the petition must be accompanied by a certified copy of the judgment or order against which special leave to appeal is sought, and by an affidavit in support of the statement of facts; Rule 3(1)(f) places the certified copy second in the set. Rule 3(1)(c) confines the petition to the pleadings before the court or tribunal below; additional grounds may be urged at the hearing only with notice to the respondent and the leave of the Court.
The Prescribed Rule: A certified copy of the impugned judgment or order must be filed. Where a certified copy is not immediately available, an application for exemption from filing a certified copy must accompany the filing.
Language and Translation: Under Order VIII Rules 2 and 3 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, every document filed in the Supreme Court must be in the English language. Where the impugned judgment or any part of the lower court record is in another language, an official or sworn English translation must be filed along with an application for exemption from filing official translation if a private translation is submitted.
What the Registry Flags: Uncertified or illegible copies filed without an application for exemption; missing pages or blurry text in the judgment copy; untranslated vernacular judgments filed without English translations and supporting exemption applications.
What Belongs in the Appendix of Relevant Provisions?
Under Order XXI Rule 3(1)(d)(iii), the English version of the relevant provisions of the Constitution, statutes, ordinances, rules, regulations, bye-laws or orders referred to in the impugned judgment or order is filed as an Appendix to the petition; Rule 3(1)(f) places it after the petition and before the annexures.
What the Registry Flags: Citing statutory provisions or amended rules in the grounds of the petition without appending the full text of those provisions or relevant sections in the appendix.
How Must Annexures Be Indexed, Chronologically Ordered, and Paginated?
Order XXI Rules 3(1)(d) and 5 govern the treatment of annexures filed in support of a Special Leave Petition.
The Prescribed Rule: Under Rule 3(1)(d), annexures are arranged in chronological order and numbered, and each document is indexed separately — the documents are not to be indexed collectively; a document from the court below that is not on the record needs a separate application. Under Rule 5, annexures are certified copies of documents from the record of the court or tribunal below; an uncertified copy is accepted only if affirmed as a true copy by affidavit. Annexures are marked (Annexure P-1, Annexure P-2) and paginated continuously within the paper book.
What the Registry Flags:
Indexing Errors: Discrepancies between the description of an annexure in the main index and its actual title on the document page.
Pagination Errors: Non-continuous pagination, skipped page numbers, duplicate page numbering, or text obscured by page stamp numbers.
Out-of-Order Annexures: Annexures that are not arranged chronologically according to their dates.
Additional Documents: Documents annexed that were not part of the lower court record filed without a formal application for leave to file additional documents.
What Are the Formatting Rules for the Verification Affidavit?
Under Order XXI Rule 3(1)(e) and Order IX (Rules 3 to 5) of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, every Special Leave Petition must be verified by an affidavit.
The Prescribed Rule: The affidavit must be sworn by the petitioner or an authorized representative familiar with the facts. It must verify the contents of the petition and confirm that the annexures are true copies of their originals or records below.
What the Registry Flags: Unsigned affidavits; affidavits missing the notary/oath commissioner's stamp, seal, or date; affidavits sworn by an unauthorized person without a supporting power of attorney or authorization letter; discrepancies between the name/deponent details in the affidavit and the cause title.
What Must Be Verified in the Vakalatnama and Memorandum of Appearance?
An Advocate-on-Record cannot act or plead in a Special Leave Petition without filing a valid Vakalatnama and Memorandum of Appearance in accordance with Order IV Rule 7 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013.
The Prescribed Rule: Under Order IV Rule 7, the Vakalatnama must be executed by the petitioner(s) in favor of the Advocate-on-Record, bearing the client's signature, full name, address, and acceptance signature of the Advocate-on-Record along with their code number.
What the Registry Flags: Omission of the Advocate-on-Record code number under Order IV Rule 7; unattested signatures; Vakalatnama executed by a corporate body or authority without an accompanying resolution or authorization letter.
What Are the Listing Proforma, Court Fees, and Registry Check Lists?
The Supreme Court Registry relies on standardized checklists and Handbook directions to streamline initial scrutiny:
The Listing Proforma: The cover sheet in the form of the Proforma for First Listing prescribed by the Registry's Circular F.No. 03/Judl/2025 of 16 January 2025, carrying the particulars it asks for — the nature of the matter, the Act and provision, the court below and the dates of the impugned orders, the parties with their e-mail and mobile numbers, the main category and sub-classification, any similar or pending matter, and the other entries the form prescribes; the Advocate's Check List requires it filled in, signed and included in the paper books (Annexure D, item 12). Chapter XIII of the Handbook uses the same name for the mention memo in Form No. 35, by which urgent or out-of-turn listing is sought.
The Advocate’s Check List (Annexure D): Published under the Registry Circular of 9 January 2025, this is a mandatory pre-filing self-verification list completed and signed by the Advocate-on-Record before submission.
The Scrutiny Assistants’ Check List (Annexure C): The internal verification template used by the Registry’s Scrutiny Assistants during scrutiny under Chapter XI of the Handbook.
Court Fees: The petition and accompanying applications must carry court fees in accordance with the Third Schedule (Table of Court Fees, read with Order VIII Rule 8) to the Supreme Court Rules, 2013.
| Part of Petition Set | Governing Rule Reference | Common Registry Defect Flagged |
|---|---|---|
| Listing Proforma | Circular of 16 January 2025 (Proforma for First Listing) / Annexure D item 12 | Missing category code; incomplete lower court details |
| Cause Title | Form No. 28 / Order XXI Rule 3(1)(a) | Mismatch with impugned order party names or addresses |
| Synopsis & Dates | Order XXI Rule 3(1)(b) | Chronological gaps; facts contradicting impugned order |
| Form No. 28 Body | Order XXI Rule 3(1)(a); Rules 3(2), 3(4), 3(5) | Missing prescribed statements; unstated questions of law |
| Impugned Order | Order XXI Rule 4; Rule 3(1)(f)(ii) | Uncertified copy without exemption application; illegible pages |
| Annexures | Order XXI Rules 3(1)(d), 5 | Non-continuous pagination; out-of-order dates; index mismatch |
| Affidavit | Order XXI Rule 3(1)(e) | Omitted seal/stamp; deponent name mismatch with cause title |
| Vakalatnama | Order IV Rule 7 | Missing AOR code; unattested signature; missing authorization |
Why Are Formatting Defects the Ones the Registry Never Misses?
The Supreme Court Registry checks filing sets through structural inspection under Chapter XI of the Handbook. Unlike judicial Benches, which hear oral arguments on the legal merits of a case, Scrutiny Assistants verify tangible, objective criteria across every page:
Does the page numbering in the index match the physical page?
Is every annexure listed in the index attached in exact chronological order?
Does the name on the Vakalatnama match the name on the cause title and affidavit under Order IV Rule 7?
Because these checks run on explicit verification criteria established in the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, Chapter XI of the Handbook, and Registry circulars, format errors are caught consistently. When a cross-part inconsistency occurs—such as a page number mismatch or an uncertified annexure—the Registry flags it automatically.
To understand how procedural checks are conducted systematically, review our companion guides:
Special Leave Petition filing defects: what the Registry checks
Where Nyave Fits
Nyave is India’s first deterministic pre-filing verification platform built specifically for Special Leave Petitions filed in the Supreme Court of India.
Deterministic Verification: The Advocate-on-Record uploads the complete filing set as a single PDF; Nyave verifies it against a 106-rule* knowledge layer derived from the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, the Supreme Court Handbook 2025, and 13* Registry circulars.
Cross-Part Inspection: Nyave checks for cross-part inconsistencies—such as index-to-page mismatches, cause-title discrepancies, missing mandatory declarations, and pagination defects—before the petition is submitted to the Registry.
Line-by-Line Reports: Each finding cites its exact rule and page number, providing a concise line for the Advocate-on-Record and step-by-step instructions for the clerk.
Scope Boundary: Nyave reports what the Registry is likely to flag. It does not draft petitions, advise on legal merits, or replace the Advocate-on-Record or the Registry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a prescribed form for filing a Special Leave Petition?
Yes. Every Special Leave Petition must be prepared in Form No. 28 appended to the Rules (Fourth Schedule to the Supreme Court Rules, 2013), as mandated under Order XXI Rule 3(1)(a) for civil matters and Order XXII Rule 2(1) for criminal matters.
What must be included in the list of dates and synopsis?
Under Order XXI Rule 3(1)(b), the list of dates sets out the events in chronological order with the relevant material facts against each date. The synopsis, by the Court's practice, gives a brief summary of the case and the legal points involved.
Do annexures filed with a Special Leave Petition need to be certified?
Under Order XXI Rule 5, annexures are certified copies of documents forming part of the record in the court below; an uncertified copy is accepted only if affirmed as a true copy by affidavit. Where private translations are filed, the application for exemption that the Rules require accompanies the set (Order VIII Rules 2 and 3; the application under Annexure C, item 5).
What is the listing proforma?
The listing proforma is the cover sheet in the form of the Proforma for First Listing prescribed by the Registry's Circular of 16 January 2025, carrying the nature of the matter, the case category, the details of the court below and the impugned order, and the other particulars the form asks for, which the Registry uses for classification and listing.
Can interim relief be requested inside Form No. 28?
Yes. Under Order XXI Rule 3(1)(a), no separate application for interim relief need be filed; interim prayer, if any, should be incorporated directly in Form No. 28 appended to the Rules.
What happens if the cause title in the petition does not match the impugned judgment?
If party names, order of appearance, or descriptions in the cause title differ from the impugned judgment without explanation, the Registry flags a cause-title discrepancy defect under Chapter XI of the Handbook.
Primary Sources
- Supreme Court Rules, 2013: Order IV Rule 7 (vakalatnama and appearance); Order XXI Rule 3(1)(a) (Form No. 28; interim relief within the petition), 3(1)(b) (list of dates), 3(1)(c) (pleadings below; additional grounds by leave), 3(1)(d) (annexures; the Appendix under 3(1)(d)(iii)), 3(1)(e) (verification by affidavit), 3(1)(f) (the order of papers), 3(2)–(5) (the statements the petition carries and the consequence of non-disclosure), 4 (certified copy and affidavit), 5 (annexures as certified or affirmed true copies), 6 (spare sets); Order XXII Rule 2(1) (applying Order XXI Rule 3(1), and with it Form No. 28, to petitions in criminal proceedings); Form No. 28 appended to the Rules (Fourth Schedule). Supreme Court Rules (sci.gov.in)
- Handbook on Practice and Procedure and Office Procedure (2017 Edition, updated 6 October 2025): Chapter X Items 17–22 (Cure and Re-filing Certification) and Item 23 (the common index of the case file and paper book); Chapter XI (Filing and Processing of Cases, Scrutiny, Defects, and 28-day cure window); Chapter XIII (Listing of Cases; the mention memo/listing proforma in Form No. 35); Chapter XIV, item 12 (the list of dates/synopsis). Supreme Court Handbook (sci.gov.in)
- Supreme Court Registry Circular dated 9 January 2025: Annexure C (Scrutiny Assistants’ Check List) and Annexure D (Advocate’s Check List). Default List (sci.gov.in)
- Supreme Court Registry Circular F.No. 03/Judl/2025 dated 16 January 2025: the Modified Listing Proforma (the Proforma for First Listing).
- Supreme Court Registry Circular F.No. 01/Judl./2020 dated 5 March 2020: paper size and printing format for pleadings, Registry communications to Advocates-on-Record by e-mail and SMS, 1+1 sets for miscellaneous filings in disposed matters, and a common index for a matter in more than one volume.
* Figures are from Nyave's own dataset and records, or from public data; actual figures may differ.
This article is informational and does not constitute legal advice. Verification against the Supreme Court Registry's current requirements is for the Advocate-on-Record before filing. Procedural texts change; readers should consult the current Rules, Handbook and circulars on the Supreme Court's website. See also Nyave's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Explore the series
- Article 1What happens after a Special Leave Petition is filed in the Supreme Court?
- Article 2Special Leave Petition filing defects: what the Supreme Court Registry checks before registration
- Article 3Supreme Court Special Leave Petition filing checklist: what to verify before submission
- Article 4Special Leave Petition: What It Is, Which Orders It Can Challenge, Who Files It, and What It Must Contain
- Article 5The Special Leave Petition Format, Part by Part, and What the Registry Rejects
