It is not possible to predict the time of disposal of a Special Leave Petition by the Supreme Court. If the SLP is dismissed at the notice stage itself, then it may not take more than a month or so from the date of its filing. This would imply that the Supreme Court does not consider the case to be fit to grant “Special Leave” (or permission) to the Special Leave Petition (SLP) for converting it into a regular Appeal.
But, if notice is issued, it may take longer, may be one or two years or even more. Sometimes, after notice is issued, the SLP is disposed of on merits at the SLP stage itself, after hearing both parties (though even in this case also, the order will still mention “Leave granted” and an Appeal No. is formally given, but it is decided simultaneously). In such a situation, the SLP may be decided, generally, in one to two years.
On the other hand, in some cases, after notice is issued, a formal “Leave” is granted first, which converts the SLP into a regular Appeal (either Civil Appeal or Criminal Appeal, as the case may be), and thereafter such Appeal is regularly listed and heard in detail. In this scenario, i.e., if leave if granted in SLP and it is converted into a regular appeal and then listed and heard, it may generally take even more time such as 5-6 years or more.
But, these are only approximately guesses and the actual time taken depends on an individual case.
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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