ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Special Leave Petitions in India

Okay, so let me try to explain special leave petitions in India to you like you are five years old.

Imagine you are playing with your friends and someone suddenly takes away your toy without asking. You want to get it back but you don't know what to do. You can't just take it back yourself because that would be wrong. So what do you do? You go to a grown-up, maybe your mommy or daddy, and ask them to help you get your toy back.

Similarly, when someone thinks that something wrong has happened to them or someone they know, they can't just take the law in their own hands. They need to go to a higher authority to get justice. In India, this higher authority is the Supreme Court.

But not everyone can go directly to the Supreme Court. They need to follow a certain process. This is where special leave petitions (SLPs) come in.

An SLP is a request made to the Supreme Court by someone who wants to challenge a decision made by a high court or a tribunal. For example, if someone was not happy with a decision made by their state high court or the National Green Tribunal, they can file an SLP in the Supreme Court.

But an SLP is not like an ordinary appeal. It is a special kind of request where the person filing the petition has to show a good reason why the Supreme Court should hear their case. Think of it like this - you can't just go to your mommy and ask her to help you get your toy back without telling her why you think it was taken away unfairly. You need to give her a good reason why you should get it back.

Similarly, when someone files an SLP, they need to explain why they think the high court or tribunal made a mistake and why the Supreme Court should hear their case.

So, in summary, an SLP is a special kind of request made to the Supreme Court by someone who wants to challenge a decision made by a lower court or tribunal. It is like asking a grown-up for help when something goes wrong, but you need to explain why you need their help.