UPSC Notes

Special Leave Petitions (Article 136) and Supreme Court's Jurisdiction

PYQs

Articles

Momentum

Phase IFoundation

Background

Overview

Understanding Article 136 is fundamental to comprehending the Supreme Court's role, its judicial activism/restraint, and its impact on the judicial system's efficiency and consistency. It's a key constitutional provision.

Article 136 of the Indian Constitution grants the Supreme Court extraordinary discretionary power to grant special leave to appeal from any judgment, decree, determination, sentence, or order passed by any court or tribunal in India. It is not a right of appeal but a special power to be exercised sparingly in exceptional circumstances.

Phase IIStatic core

Facts & tables

Key facts

Nature of power

Article 136 confers a discretionary power on the Supreme Court, not a right to appeal for litigants.

Intended use

Conceived by the Constituent Assembly to be exercised sparingly, primarily for cases of grave injustice or significant legal questions.

Impact on docket

A substantial portion of the Supreme Court's docket is now dominated by SLPs, contributing significantly to judicial pendency.

Scope and consistency

The Supreme Court has shown reluctance to narrow the scope of Article 136, leading to an unpredictable system and doctrinal inconsistencies.

Reference table

Article 136: Intended vs. Actual Use

Intended Use	Actual Use/Impact
Exercised sparingly, for extraordinary cases	Dominates a substantial portion of SC's docket
Remedy for grave injustice/significant legal questions	Often used for routine appeals, contributing to pendency
Clear guidelines for exercise	Persistent reluctance to formulate clear guidelines
Ensure doctrinal consistency	Contributes to unpredictable outcomes and doctrinal inconsistency

Reference table

Static syllabus anchors

Type	Reference
Conceptual area	Constitutional Law

Reference table

Institutions & roles

Body	Role
Supreme Court of India	Exercises this jurisdiction

Phase IIIExam lens

Prelims angle

Overview

Prelims angle: Factual recall

Prelims angle: Conceptual understanding

Quick revision

Art 136: SC's discretionary power.
Not a right, for exceptional cases.
Major contributor to SC pendency.
Lack of clear guidelines.
Debate on scope and judicial restraint.

Elimination traps

Constitutional vs statutory — Article 136 is a constitutional provision, not a statutory one.

Check if created by Constitution or by Parliament.

High-confidence PYQs

2024Factual recall, Conceptual understanding

Under which of the following Articles of the Constitution of India, has the Supreme Court of India placed the Right to Privacy?

Indian PolityOpen question

2023Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding

Consider the following statements: Statement-I: The Supreme Court of India has held in some judgements that the reservation policies made under Article 16(4...

Indian PolityOpen question

2021Conceptual understanding, Multi-statement analysis

With reference to Indian Judiciary, consider the following statements: 1. Any retired judge of the Supreme Court of India can be called back to sit and act ...

Indian PolityOpen question

We adopted parliamentary democracy based on the British model, but how does our model differ from that model? 1. As regards legislation, the British Parliam...

Indian PolityOpen question

2021Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding

With reference to Indian Judiciary, consider the following statements: 1. Any retired judge of the Supreme Court of India can be called back to sit and act ...

Indian PolityOpen question

We adopted parliamentary democracy based on the British model, but how does our model differ from that model? 1. As regards legislation, the British Parliam...

Indian PolityOpen question

2019Multi-statement analysis, Factual recall

Consider the following statements : 1. The motion to impeach a Judge of the Supreme Court of India cannot be rejected by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha as per ...

Indian PolityOpen question

With reference to the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: 1. No High Court shall have the jurisdiction to declare any central law to ...

Indian PolityOpen question

2019Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding

Consider the following statements : 1. The motion to impeach a Judge of the Supreme Court of India cannot be rejected by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha as per ...

Indian PolityOpen question

With reference to the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: 1. No High Court shall have the jurisdiction to declare any central law to ...

Indian PolityOpen question

2014Factual recall, Institutional roles and functions

The power of the Supreme Court of India to decide disputes between the Centre and the States falls under its

Indian PolityOpen question

The power to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court of India is vested in

Indian PolityOpen question

2014Factual recall, Conceptual understanding

The power of the Supreme Court of India to decide disputes between the Centre and the States falls under its

Indian PolityOpen question

The power to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court of India is vested in

Indian PolityOpen question

Topic timeline

Constitutional Law

Prelims 2014· Factual recall, Institutional roles and functions

The power of the Supreme Court of India to decide disputes between the Centre and the States falls under its

Open question

The power to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court of India is vested in

Open question

Prelims 2014· Factual recall, Conceptual understanding

The power of the Supreme Court of India to decide disputes between the Centre and the States falls under its

Open question

The power to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court of India is vested in

Open question

Prelims 2019· Multi-statement analysis, Factual recall

Consider the following statements : 1. The motion to impeach a Judge of the Supreme Court of India cannot be rejected by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha as per ...

Open question

With reference to the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: 1. No High Court shall have the jurisdiction to declare any central law to ...

Open question

Prelims 2019· Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding

Consider the following statements : 1. The motion to impeach a Judge of the Supreme Court of India cannot be rejected by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha as per ...

Open question

With reference to the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: 1. No High Court shall have the jurisdiction to declare any central law to ...

Open question

Prelims 2021· Conceptual understanding, Multi-statement analysis

With reference to Indian Judiciary, consider the following statements: 1. Any retired judge of the Supreme Court of India can be called back to sit and act ...

Open question

We adopted parliamentary democracy based on the British model, but how does our model differ from that model? 1. As regards legislation, the British Parliam...

Open question

Prelims 2021· Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding

With reference to Indian Judiciary, consider the following statements: 1. Any retired judge of the Supreme Court of India can be called back to sit and act ...

Open question

We adopted parliamentary democracy based on the British model, but how does our model differ from that model? 1. As regards legislation, the British Parliam...

Open question

Prelims 2023· Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding

Consider the following statements: Statement-I: The Supreme Court of India has held in some judgements that the reservation policies made under Article 16(4...

Open question

Prelims 2024· Factual recall, Conceptual understanding

Under which of the following Articles of the Constitution of India, has the Supreme Court of India placed the Right to Privacy?

Open question

Will increasing the strength of the SC solve the pendency problem?

29 May 2026 · Article 136 grants the SC discretionary special leave to appeal, intended for rare, exceptional cases. However, it now dominates the SC's docket, contributing to pendency and doctrinal inconsistency due to a lack of clear guidelines.

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Practice writing on this topic

UPSC has asked 8 linked questions on Special Leave Petitions (Article 136) and Supreme Court's Jurisdiction in Mains. Write an answer to one — and get it evaluated.

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Special Leave Petitions (Article 136) and Supreme Court's Jurisdiction

Overview

Key facts

Reference table

Reference table

Reference table

Overview

Quick revision

Elimination traps

High-confidence PYQs

Topic timeline

Related topics

Practice writing on this topic