Application Format for Supreme Court
The prescribed formats every filing must follow — reproduced below for reference.
Supreme Court filings are not free-form documents. Every category of petition — a Special Leave Petition, a Writ Petition, an appeal — follows a specific format prescribed under the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, and the Registry will raise objections (and delay listing) on any filing that departs from it. Below are the two most commonly used formats, reproduced in their prescribed structure so clients and instructing counsel can see exactly what the Registry expects. MovLegal prepares every filing to this standard before it reaches the Court.
1. Special Leave Petition — Form No. 28
(Prescribed under Order XXI Rule 3(1)(a) of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 — used for both Civil and Criminal SLPs under Article 136)
FORM No. 28IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CIVIL) NO. __________ OF __________
(Under Article 136 of the Constitution of India)
IN THE MATTER OF:
[Name(s) of Petitioner(s)] …PETITIONER(S)
VERSUS
[Name(s) of Respondent(s)] …RESPONDENT(S)
[Position of parties in the Court/Tribunal below to be indicated alongside each name]
To The Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India and His Companion Judges of the Supreme Court of India
THE SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION OF THE PETITIONER ABOVE NAMED MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH:
1. The petitioner above named respectfully submits this petition seeking special leave to appeal against the judgment/order dated __________ passed by the [name of Court/Tribunal] in [case number], whereby the said Court/Tribunal [briefly state the nature of the order — allowing/dismissing the matter, granting/refusing interim relief, etc.]
2. QUESTIONS OF LAW The following questions of law arise for consideration by this Hon’ble Court:
(a) …………………………………………………..
(b) …………………………………………………..
3. DECLARATION IN TERMS OF RULE 4 (2) The petitioner states that no other petition seeking leave to appeal has been filed by him/her against the impugned judgment and order.
4. DECLARATION IN TERMS OF RULE 6 It is submitted that the annexures produced along with the Special Leave Petition are true copies of the pleadings / documents which formed part of the records of the case in the Court/Tribunal below, against whose order the leave to appeal is sought in this petition.
5. GROUNDS Leave to appeal is sought on the following grounds, among others:
(a) …………………………………………………..
(b) …………………………………………………..
6. GROUNDS FOR INTERIM RELIEF (Here specify briefly the grounds on which interim relief is sought, if any.)
7. MAIN PRAYER It is therefore most respectfully prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to:
(a) Grant special leave to appeal against the impugned judgment and order dated __________ passed by [Court/Tribunal] in [case number]; and
(b) Pass such other order(s) as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.
8. INTERIM RELIEF Pending admission and final disposal of this petition, it is prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to:
(a) Stay the operation of the impugned judgment and order dated __________; and
(b) Pass such further order(s) as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit.
Place: Advocate for the Petitioner
Date: Settled by: [Name of Advocate, where settled by counsel]
By Order of the Court
Registrar (Judicial)
Notes on preparing Form No. 28:
- No separate application for interim relief is required — the interim prayer is incorporated within the petition itself.
- The petition must be accompanied by a Synopsis and a chronological List of Dates setting out the material facts and events leading up to the impugned order.
- All annexures must be arranged in chronological order, individually indexed, and page-numbered — uncertified annexures are accepted only where affirmed as true copies by affidavit.
- An Appendix containing the relevant constitutional, statutory, or regulatory provisions referred to in the impugned judgment must be filed separately.
- Criminal SLPs follow the same Form No. 28 structure under Order XXII, adapted for criminal appellate jurisdiction, with additional requirements — such as a statement on whether the petitioner has surrendered, where a sentence of imprisonment has been imposed.
2. Writ Petition — Original Jurisdiction (Article 32)
(Format prescribed for petitions filed under the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction)
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO. __________ OF __________ IN THE MATTER OF:
[Name(s) of Petitioner(s)] …PETITIONER(S)
VERSUS
[Name(s) of Respondent(s)] …RESPONDENT(S)
PETITION UNDER ARTICLE 32 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA FOR ISSUANCE OF A WRIT IN THE NATURE OF [MANDAMUS / CERTIORARI / PROHIBITION / QUO WARRANTO /HABEAS CORPUS] UNDER ARTICLE 32 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
To The Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India and His/HerCompanion Justices of the Supreme Court of India THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THEPETITIONER ABOVE NAMED MOST RESPECTFULLY SHEWETH:
1. FACTS OF THE CASE …………………………………………………..
2. QUESTION(S) OF LAW …………………………………………………..
3. GROUNDS …………………………………………………..
4. AVERMENT
That the present petitioner has not filed any other petition in any High Court or the Supreme Court of India on the subject matter of the present petition.
PRAYER
In view of the above premises, it is most respectfully prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to:
(i) [state the specific writ/direction/order sought]; and
(ii) Pass such other order(s) or further order(s) as may be deemed necessary in the facts and circumstances of the case.
FOR WHICH ACT OF KINDNESS, THE PETITIONER SHALL, AS IN DUTY BOUND, EVER PRAY.
Filed by:
[Advocate for the Petitioner /Petitioner-in-Person]
Drawn on:
Filed on:
Documents that must accompany a Writ Petition:
- Affidavit of the petitioner, duly sworn, verifying the contents of the petition
- All annexures referred to in the petition, individually indexed and page-numbered
- Prescribed number of copies of the complete paper-book (petition, affidavit, and annexures)
- Applicable court fee (nominal for most writ petitions; nil in most criminal matters)
- Index, in the prescribed specimen format, listing the Synopsis and List of Dates, the Writ Petition with supporting affidavit, the annexures, and any applications filed
- Cover page, in the prescribed specimen format, identifying the matter as a Paper-Book
- Memo of Appearance, where filed by an Advocate-on-Record
- Application seeking permission to appear and argue in person, where the petition is filed by a petitioner-in-person
Why We Prepare Every Filing This Way
The Registry’s scrutiny process checks a filing against these prescribed formats line by line before it is accepted for listing. A petition that departs from the format — a missing declaration, an incorrectly structured prayer clause, an unindexed annexure — is returned for refiling, which can cost a client valuable time in an urgent matter. We build every Supreme Court filing directly against the prescribed form from the first draft, rather than adapting a general pleading afterward to fit the Court’s requirements.
Get in Touch
If you need a Special Leave Petition, Writ Petition, or any other Supreme Court filing prepared to the Court’s exact procedural standard, our team can help. Book a consultation to discuss your matter.
The formats above reflect Form No. 28 and the Writ Petition format prescribed under the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 and the Supreme Court’s own published formats. Court fees, annexure requirements, and prescribed formats are periodically updated by the Registry — we confirm the current requirements at the time of filing for every matter