LI Network
Published on: 10 September 2023 at 12:30 IST
The Supreme Court has issued a clarification regarding the filing of special leave petitions (SLPs) to challenge administrative orders issued by High Courts.
In a recent case, the petitioner sought to challenge an administrative order by the Chief Justice of the High Court of Telangana.
The order had rejected the petitioner’s request to implement the Chief Justice of India’s (CJI) directives for online hearings and to allow the filing of contempt petitions and other applications online, along with online hearings.
The Supreme Court Registrar had refused to register the Special Leave Petition filed by the petitioner, prompting the petitioner to file an appeal. In its observations, the Supreme Court referred to a previous case, Dev Singh and Others vs. Registrar, Punjab and Haryana High Court and Others, (1987).
The Court highlighted that Article 136 of the Constitution of India allows for special leave petitions to be filed with the Supreme Court only in cases that involve adjudication by courts and tribunals. Importantly, this adjudication must have a judicial character.
As a result, the Court clarified that no Special Leave Petition can be filed to challenge administrative orders.
In the specific case mentioned, the Court upheld the decision of the Registrar and affirmed the order passed on January 6, 2023, stating that since the administrative order was not subject to judicial adjudication, it could not be challenged through a Special Leave Petition.
This clarification underscores the limitations of using SLPs to contest administrative orders, reinforcing the distinction between judicial and administrative matters in the legal framework.
The case in question was titled “Nimmanapally Surya Reddy vs. Honorable Chief Justice, High Court of Telangana – 2023.”