How to draft a counter statement in Supreme Court? Here’s given below an accurate draft which will help law students and those interested in appearing in Advocate-on-Record examination.
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
SLP(C) No. ____ – / 2025
Diary No -_______
(Under section 25 Civil Procedure Code,1908)
IN THE MATTER OF:
A …..Petitioner
Vs
B ….Respondents
INDEX
| Sl. No | Particulars | Pages |
| 1. | Counter Statement /Reply on behalf of the Respondent No ___ (Respondent-wife) to the Special Leave Petition with Affidavit. |
1-20 |
|
2 |
AnnexureR1(Colly) Copy of Petition filed under section 7 of Guardians and wards Act being case No ____ in the Court of __________ |
|
| 3 | Annexure R2 | |
| 4 | Vakalatnama | |
| 5 | Proof Of Service |
Filed By:
(TBDC)
ADVOCATE FOR RESPONDENT NO .___
Address
Mobile :____
Code. NO. ___
New Delhi
Filed On: _____
———————————————————————————————————————————————-
How to draft a counter statement for filing in Supreme Court?
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
SLP(C) No. ____ – / 2025
Diary No -_______
(Under section 25 Civil Procedure Code,1908)
IN THE MATTER OF:
A …..Petitioner
Vs
B ….Respondents
COUNTER STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENT NO.___ TO THE SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION FILED BY THE PETITIONER
MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH:
- The Respondent No.___ (hereinafter referred to as Respondent -wife) is filing the present Counter to the above Special Leave Petition filed by the Petitioner before this Hon’ble Court. The answering Respondent –wife craves leave of this Hon’ble Court to file a more detailed Counter at a later stage if necessary.
- At the outset, the answering Respondent-wife denies each and every allegation, submission and contention made by the Petitioner in the Special Leave Petition except the submissions and contentions which are dealt with herein below and specifically traversed.
PRELIMINARY OBJECTIONS
- That the present petition is not maintainable both on facts and law as the minor is in custody of their mother who is a natural guardian . The Petitioner has been regularly interacting with the children through video calls . The High Court of Calcutta in Pundrick Baghel vs The State Of West Bengal And Ors on para 39 of its Judgment dated 6 September, 2024 has categorically stated -:
- 39. Existence of the following jurisdictional facts are mandatory for the maintainability of a writ petition of habeas corpus for the custody of the minor :-
(i) minor is in illegal custody or detention,
(ii) ordinary remedy in law is either unavailable or ineffective.
It is respectfully submitted that the Petitioner has deliberately concealed facts with regards to the child custody case filed by him in the Court of the Ld Additional District Judge , ____ , _____ being case No _____ registered on ____ . A copy of the child custody petition filed by the Petitioner under section 7 of the guardians and wards Act being Case No being case No ____ is annexed herewith and marked as Annexure R1 colly ( Pages 21 to ___ ).
3. It is a settled principle of law that the welfare of the child holds paramount importance as also the wish of the children . Both the children are living happily with their mother in a healthy environment in Kolkata and is being taken care of in the best possible manner .
- The Hon’ble Supreme Court has in Tejaswini Gaud v. Shekhar Jagdish Prasad Tewar (2019) 7 SCC 42 has categorically laid down the law with regard to the maintainability of Habeas Corpus Petition in Paragraphs No. 18 & 19 of its judgment which are extracted herein below-
“18. Habeas corpus proceedings is not to justify or examine the legality of the custody. Habeas corpus proceedings is a medium through which the custody of the child is addressed to the discretion of the court. Habeas corpus is a prerogative writ which is an extraordinary remedy and the writ is issued where in the circumstances of the particular case, ordinary remedy provided by the law is either not available or is ineffective; otherwise a writ will not be issued. In child custody matters, the power of the High Court in granting the writ is qualified only in cases where the detention of a minor by a person who is not entitled to his legal custody. In view of the pronouncement on the issue in question by the Supreme Court and the High Courts, in our view, in child custody matters, the writ of habeas corpus is maintainable where it is proved that the detention of a minor child by a parent or others was illegal and without any authority of law.
- In child custody matters, the ordinary remedy lies only under the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act or the Guardians and Wards Act as the case may be. In cases arising out of the proceedings under the Guardians and Wards Act, the jurisdiction of the court is determined by whether the minor ordinarily resides within the area on which the court exercises such jurisdiction. There are significant differences between the enquiry under the Guardians and Wards Act and the exercise of powers by a writ court which is of summary in nature. What is important is the welfare of the child. In the writ court, rights are determined only on the basis of affidavits. Where the court is of the view that a detailed enquiry is required, the court may decline to exercise the extraordinary jurisdiction and direct the parties to approach the civil court. It is only in exceptional cases, the rights of the parties to the custody of the minor will be determined in exercise of extraordinary jurisdiction on a petition for habeas corpus.”
PARAWISE REPLY :
- In reply to para 1 of the Special Leave Petition, it is submitted that the Questions of Law raised therein do not arise for consideration by this Hon’ble Court.
- The contents of paras 2 & 3of the Special leave Petition do not require any comments.
- The contents of Para 4of the Special Leave Petition which relate to grounds of the Special Leave Petition are wrong and are denied and are dealt with herein below;
The Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgment dated 28 July, 2021 passed in Jose Antonio Zalba Diez Del Corral Alias Jose Antonio Zalba Vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors (Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 318 of 2020.) while dismissing the writ Petition has categorically stated –
“ In the present case, the admitted facts being that the mother has the custody of two minor children, for which the petitioner(father) has already filed a petition under Section 12 of the Act, which is pending consideration; and the custody of the children with the mother, who is a natural guardian, cannot be said to be illegal and, thus, the petition for habeas corpus would not be maintainable and that too directly under Article 32 of the Constitution of India. While saying so, we are not going into the question whether the maintenance amount directed by the Trial Court in the proceedings under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act,2005 has been paid or not. The statutory remedy available under the Guardians and Wards Act is the appropriate remedy, which has already been availed by the petitioner. There are no extra ordinary or exceptional circumstances in the present case requiring this Court to exercise its jurisdiction under Article 32 of the Constitution of India. The remedy already availed by the petitioner is an appropriate and effective remedy, where all the questions raised herein regarding the welfare and wellbeing of the children can be considered in accordance with law, after appreciation of the evidence, which may be led by the parties.
4. In reply to para 7 of the Special Leave Petition it is submitted that the Petitioner is not entitled to any relief and the Special Leave Petition deserves to be dismissed by this Hon’ble Court
5. No new facts, document or grounds have been referred to or relied upon in the present Counter which did not from part of the records/pleadings of the courts below.
6. In view of what is stated above the answering Respondent-wife submits that the Petitioner is not entitled to any interim relief and the Special Leave Petition deserves to be dismissed with costs
(TBDC)
ADVOCATE FOR RESPONDENT NO .___
Address
Mobile :___
Code. NO. ___
New Delhi
Filed On: _____
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