An individual person can DIRECTLY file a case in the Supreme Court only for enforcemnt of his fundamental rights and such case can be filed in the form of a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India. In other situations (i.e., where there is no violation of the fundamental rights), it is not possible to file a direct case in Supreme Court and a person has to first approach the concerned court which has the jurisdiction for such matter.
It may be noted that Article 32 of the Constitution, which gives a remedy to directly approach the Supreme Court to enforce the fundamental rights, is itself a fundamental right. This is important since a fundamental right cannot be abridged or repealed even by way of a constitutional amendment, if it is considered to be a basic feature of the Constitution. And, it is pertinent to mention that the right under Article 32 has been declared by the Supreme Court as a basic feature of the Constitution.
However, this is only “theory” nowadays. In practice, for last about 30 years or so, the Supreme Court very rarely entertains a direction petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, even though this right itself is a fundamental right. Nowadays, the Supreme Court generally insists that the person concerned should first approach the high court, even if his fundamental right has been violated. So, nowadays, it is in very rare cases (such as in some PILs, for example, in issues of great public importance) that the Supreme Court will directly entertain a writ petition under Article 32.
You have mentioned that your matter relates to issues of employment with the Government. It is not clear whether these issues also involve violation of the fundamental rights (such as, for example, right to equality under Article 14). But, even if a violation of fundamental right is involved in your personal matter, the SC may not entertain your writ petition under Article 32 directly. You may instead try to first approach the appropriate tribunal (such as Central Administrative Tribunal if you are Central Govt servant) or the other appropriate court having jurisdiction. Yes, it may involve delays, but there is little other option.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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