Advocate Sanjeev Vohra

Questions Answered by Advocate Sanjeev Vohra

Q: Party In Person Filing using SPA

I am filing an appeal in Supreme Court against NCDRC judgment. I am thinking of filing it myself as party in person. Can party in person use an SPA to file in Supreme Court? I plan to give my SPA to a family member to file on my behalf.

Advocate Sanjeev Vohra answered
A party-in-person is permitted to file and prosecute a matter before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. However, filing and appearance through a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) by a non-advocate family member is not permitted as a matter of right.As per the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 and settled practice:Filing of Appeal/SLPA party-in-person may file the appeal/SLP personally after obtaining Party-in-Person registration from the Supreme Court Registry and complying with procedural requirements.Alternatively, filing can be done through an Advocate-on-Record (AOR) only.Use of SPAAn SPA holder who is not an Advocate-on-Record cannot file pleadings, sign vakalatnama, or address the Court merely on the strength of an SPA.An SPA may be accepted only for ministerial or logistical acts (such as collecting certified copies, filing documents under Registry directions), subject to Registry permission, but not for conducting the case.Appearance & ArgumentsOnly the party-in-person himself or an AOR/advocate instructed by an AOR can appear and argue before the Supreme Court.A family member holding SPA cannot argue or represent the party unless enrolled as an advocate and engaged through an AOR.Conclusion:You may file and pursue the appeal as a party-in-person, but you cannot authorize a family member (non-advocate) through SPA to file or conduct the case on your behalf in the Supreme Court. If personal filing is not feasible, the legally permissible course is to engage an Advocate-on-Record.