Civil Petition for Leave to Appeal in Bangladesh 2026: Deadlines, Stays, Leave and Review

Civil petition for leave to appeal Bangladesh: how the Appellate Division filters civil appeals in 2026

A civil petition for leave to appeal Bangladesh lawyers call a CPLA is the ordinary way, and in most civil cases the only way, to take a High Court Division judgment or order to the Appellate Division. Article 103(3) of the Constitution allows an appeal outside the narrow "as of right" categories only if the Appellate Division first grants leave.[1] The procedure is governed by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh (Appellate Division) Rules 1988: a sixty-day clock, a prescribed set of papers, a filter at the leave stage and, if leave is granted, a second set of deadlines that can cancel the leave if missed.[4]

This guide is about the leave petition itself. It covers when a petition lies, how the sixty-day and thirty-day limits are counted, certified copies and provisional filing, contents, the Chamber Judge and stay applications, what happens when leave is granted or refused, review under Article 105, fees and realistic timelines in 2026. The first-tier remedies are covered in our guides to civil appeals, civil revision and writ petitions, and interim relief in more depth in our guide to stay orders.

Summary: A party aggrieved by a High Court Division judgment, decree or order in a civil proceeding must, unless an appeal lies as of right under Article 103(2), lodge a petition for leave to appeal within sixty days, or within thirty days of the High Court Division refusing a certificate under Article 103(2)(a). The petition must state the points of law succinctly and be filed with a certified copy of the impugned decision, supporting papers and an affidavit. A Chamber Judge can deal with stay applications; a bench decides leave. If leave is granted, the petitioner must deposit security within one month and pay the appeal court fee within thirty days, or risk losing the appeal.

Key point: Leave is a filter, not a formality. The Appellate Division can refuse leave, grant it on stated points, or dispose of the petition with directions without ever registering an appeal. A refusal of leave can be revisited only once, by a review petition under Article 105 filed within thirty days, signed by a Senior Advocate with a reasoned certificate, and backed by a Tk 10,000 security that is forfeited if review is dismissed.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

Where the civil petition for leave to appeal Bangladesh law requires sits in Article 103

Article 103(1) gives the Appellate Division jurisdiction to hear and determine appeals from judgments, decrees, orders or sentences of the High Court Division.[1] Article 103(2) then lists the cases in which an appeal lies "as of right": where the High Court Division certifies that the case involves a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution; where it has confirmed or imposed a sentence of death or imprisonment for life; where it has imposed punishment for contempt of itself; and in other cases Parliament provides for.[1]

Everything else falls under Article 103(3): an appeal lies "only if the Appellate Division grants leave to appeal".[1] In civil litigation that covers almost every decision that matters commercially: High Court Division judgments in first appeals and civil revisions, judgments in writ petitions that raise no certified constitutional question, company matters and interlocutory orders such as the grant or refusal of an interim stay. Article 103(4) lets Parliament extend the same scheme to appeals from other courts and tribunals.[1]

The certificate route and why it rarely helps

A party with a genuine constitutional point can ask the High Court Division for a certificate under Article 103(2)(a). If granted, Order XII of the Rules governs a full appeal, which must be presented within thirty days of the certificate or of the impugned decision, excluding the time needed to obtain a copy of the certificate and the order granting it.[4] If the certificate is refused, Order XIII rule 1 gives the party thirty days from the refusal to lodge a leave petition instead.[4] Because the shorter clock runs from refusal, a certificate application made for tactical reasons can compress, rather than extend, the time available.

Who does what in a leave petition

A civil petition for leave to appeal Bangladesh's Appellate Division hears passes through several hands before a bench decides it. The Registrar receives and checks it, the Chamber Judge deals with urgent interim relief, and a bench of the Appellate Division decides leave. The petition is drawn and moved by an Advocate-on-Record, while any later review must be signed by a Senior Advocate.[4]

What a civil petition for leave to appeal Bangladesh courts entertain can challenge

Order XIII applies to "the judgment or order sought to be appealed from".[4] The Rules draw no line between final and interlocutory decisions, and in practice both are challenged. A final judgment in a first appeal, a revision or a writ petition is the classic target. Interlocutory orders of the High Court Division, such as an order issuing a Rule with an interim stay, refusing a stay or granting status quo, are taken up the same way, often with an urgent stay application placed first before the Chamber Judge.

Bench size follows the decision below. Order XI rule 1 requires matters to be heard by at least three Judges, but allows petitions for leave to appeal, and appeals from appellate or revisional judgments of a single High Court Division Judge, to be heard by two Judges. The Chief Justice can refer a fit case to a larger bench, and an equally divided bench is resolved by placing the matter before another Judge or a larger bench.[4]

The questions that earn leave

The Appellate Division is the final court, and its declarations of law bind the High Court Division and every subordinate court under Article 111.[11] Leave is therefore most readily granted where the High Court Division's decision raises a question of law that matters beyond the parties, conflicts with earlier Appellate Division authority, rests on a misreading of a statute or of the evidence, or was made without jurisdiction. Order XIII rule 2 reflects this: the petition must state "all points of law which arise for determination" and must deal with the merits "only so far as is necessary" to support the grounds for leave.[4]

A petition that simply reargues facts found concurrently by two courts below rarely succeeds. The question at the leave stage is whether the High Court Division's decision shows an error of law or jurisdiction that warrants the Appellate Division's interference, not whether another view of the evidence was possible.

Limitation for a civil petition for leave to appeal Bangladesh: sixty days and thirty days

Order XIII rule 1 requires a leave petition to be lodged "within sixty days of the judgment or order sought to be appealed from" or, as the case may be, within thirty days from refusal of a certificate under Article 103(2)(a).[4] Criminal leave petitions are different: Order XXIV rule 2 sets thirty days, with sixty days for a government petition against an acquittal.[4] Practitioners who handle both kinds of work must not carry the criminal period over to a civil case, or the reverse.

How the days are counted

Section 12(2) of the Limitation Act 1908 applies expressly to "an application for leave to appeal and an application for a review of judgment". In computing the period, the day on which the judgment was pronounced and the time requisite for obtaining a copy of the decree or order appealed from are excluded.[5] Section 12(3) also excludes the time needed to obtain a copy of the judgment on which a decree is founded.[5]

The exclusion is limited to the time "requisite" for a copy. Time runs from the date of the judgment, the period between pronouncement and the copy application counts against the petitioner, and only the period during which the copying department was working on a properly made application is excluded. A copy application lodged late erodes the sixty days in a way the exclusion will not repair. Apply for the certified copy on the day of judgment or the next working day, and keep the stamped requisition and delivery slip as proof.

Condonation of delay under section 5

Section 5 of the Limitation Act allows an application for leave to appeal to be admitted after the period if the applicant satisfies the court that it "had sufficient cause" for the delay.[6] Condonation is a matter for the court, not the Chamber Judge: Order V rule 2(11) expressly excludes applications for condonation of delay in filing leave petitions from the matters a Judge in Chamber can decide.[4]

The Appellate Division can be generous where the explanation is credible. In Government of Bangladesh v Md Abdul Jalil, 17 SCOB [2023] AD 74, decided on 8 January 2023, it condoned a twelve-day delay in the leave petition and a 403-day delay in the underlying revision, accepting that "the state being impersonal machinery has to work through different offices or servants".[8] Private litigants should not assume the same indulgence. Explain the whole period, day by day where possible, with documents, and file the condonation application with the petition.

The table below sets out the main time limits in the Appellate Division for civil matters. On a phone, scroll it sideways.

Certified copies, provisional petitions and urgent filing

Order XIII rule 3 requires the petitioner to lodge copies of the judgment, decree or order sought to be appealed from, "one copy of which shall be certified as correct", together with the grounds or application filed in the High Court Division.[4] The certified copy is the foundation of the petition. It proves the text the Appellate Division is asked to correct, and its issue date drives the limitation calculation under section 12(2).[5]

Urgency does not wait for the copying department. Order XIII rule 14 permits a provisional petition for leave to appeal, but only if "all relevant documents except copy of the impugned judgment" are filed.[4] The proviso to Order V rule 1 adds that an application for exemption from filing certified copies of the judgment or order accompanying a leave petition is placed before the court with the petition, rather than decided by the Registrar.[4]

The Chamber Judge's practice reflects this. On 30 April 2025, in a criminal matter, the Chamber Judge stayed a High Court Division bail order on the same afternoon it was made, with the stay to run until the certified copy of the judgment was published and a regular leave petition filed.[12] Civil practice works the same way: an urgent application can be moved on an uncertified copy, but the regular petition must follow within time and in proper form once the copy is issued.

Copies needed after leave is granted

The certified-copy obligation does not end at the leave stage. Under Order XIV rule 2, where leave is granted in a civil proceeding, the petitioner must file a certified copy of the impugned High Court Division decree in the Registry within fifteen days of the order granting leave.[4] Applying for the decree copy early, alongside the judgment copy, avoids a second scramble.

Drafting a civil petition for leave to appeal Bangladesh judges will read

Order XIII rule 2 fixes the essentials. The petition must state succinctly all points of law that arise and all facts necessary for the court to decide whether leave should be granted, and must be signed by counsel or the Advocate-on-Record, or by the party if appearing in person.[4] Where it is moved through an Advocate-on-Record, it must cite all previous decisions of the court that, to the best of the advocate's knowledge, bear on the question raised.[4] That duty of candour includes adverse authority.

Form and supporting papers

Order XVIII rule 1 requires consecutively numbered paragraphs, endorsed with the name of the court appealed from and the name and address of the Advocate-on-Record.[4] Under Order XIII rule 3, as amended, the petitioner lodges at least ten copies of the petition; the judgment, decree or order, with one certified copy; the High Court Division paper book, if any, and other records attested by the Advocate-on-Record; any order refusing a certificate under Article 103(2)(a); an affidavit in support of facts; and, unless the other side has lodged a caveat, an affidavit of service of notice of the intended petition on any party who appeared below.[4]

Order XVIII rule 4 governs the affidavit. Where the petitioner appears in person, the petitioner swears it; where an Advocate-on-Record swears it, the affidavit must also show how the deponent obtained the instructions and information.[4] Order XIII rule 15 states that no leave petition will be received without the requisite paper books, except on a properly stamped application for time.[4]

Security, caveats and the Registrar's filter

Order XVIII rule 12 requires a cash security of Tk 2,000 with every petition or application seeking an order of the court, other than those filed through jail, and the security is forfeited if the petition is dismissed.[4] A respondent who expects a leave petition can lodge a caveat under Order XVIII rule 2 and is then entitled to notice and copies.[4] The Registrar may refuse to receive a petition that discloses no reasonable cause of appeal, is frivolous or contains scandalous matter; the petitioner may challenge that refusal by motion to the court within fourteen days.[4]

Writing grounds that earn leave

The strongest petitions are short. Frame each ground as a question of law, identify the paragraph of the High Court Division's judgment where the error appears, and show why it changes the result. Separate jurisdictional points from points about appreciation of evidence, and put the jurisdictional points first. Annex the documents the argument depends on, rather than describing them. A petition that reads like a memorandum of first appeal signals that the real complaint is about the facts.

The Chamber Judge and stay applications

Order V rule 2 lists matters that "may be exercised by a single Judge sitting in Chamber", including applications for stay of execution of a decree or order in civil proceedings.[4] The Chief Justice appoints the Judge in Chamber under Order XI rule 3.[4] Any aggrieved party may ask for the Chamber Judge's order to be reconsidered by a bench of not less than three Judges, which may include the Chamber Judge.[4] The Judge in Chamber may also adjourn any matter and lay it before the court.

Filing does not stay the decision below

Nothing in the Rules makes the lodging of a leave petition a stay of the High Court Division's judgment or order. A party that needs the decision held in abeyance must apply expressly, with the petition or ahead of it, and must show urgency, a properly arguable petition and harm that cannot be undone if the decision is implemented in the meantime. Where the High Court Division's order requires payment, a stay is frequently made conditional on deposit or security.

Typical outcomes in chamber

The Chamber Judge may grant a stay until a fixed date or until the leave petition is heard, record "no order", which leaves the High Court Division's decision in force, order the parties to maintain status quo, or send the matter to the regular bench. In a February 2022 sports-federation dispute, the Chamber Judge stayed a High Court Division order and imposed status quo; the full bench then disposed of the leave petition, kept the status quo until the writ petition was heard and asked the High Court Division to hear its Rule.[13] The mechanics of interim relief across all courts are covered in our stay order guide.

An interim order lives only as long as the petition. If leave is refused, any stay granted pending the petition falls with it, and the High Court Division's decision becomes enforceable unless the court orders otherwise. A party that wins a stay should treat it as time to prepare the leave hearing properly, not as the end of the dispute.

The leave hearing: granted, refused or disposed of

Under Order XIII rule 5, unless the other side has lodged a caveat, leave petitions are heard ex parte. The court may direct notice to the other party and adjourn the hearing until service is proved; a caveator receives notice of the hearing but is not entitled to costs unless the court orders.[4] Only one counsel is heard on each side.[4] Hearings are short, and the bench usually comes prepared with the petition and the impugned judgment.

Leave granted

Where leave is granted, the order normally records the points on which it is granted, and the court gives directions on security for the respondent's costs and printing charges.[4] The case is then registered as a civil appeal and the Registrar sends a certified copy of the order to the High Court Division.[4] The appeal will be argued on the points on which leave was granted, so the drafting of the grounds at the petition stage shapes the whole appeal.

Leave refused or petition dismissed

Where leave is refused, the petition is dismissed and the High Court Division's decision stands. The Tk 2,000 security is forfeited.[4] The only remaining route in the Appellate Division is review under Article 105, discussed below.[3]

Disposed of with directions

Article 104 empowers the Appellate Division to issue such directions, orders or decrees as may be necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it.[2] The court often uses that power to dispose of a leave petition without registering an appeal. In Md Abdul Jalil, the court set aside the High Court Division's refusal to condone delay and remitted the revision for hearing on the merits, concluding: "this civil petition for leave to appeal is disposed of".[8] That outcome can be faster and cheaper than a full appeal, and petitioners should frame an alternative prayer for it where the error is clear.

After leave: turning the petition into a civil appeal

A grant of leave starts a second set of deadlines. Under Order XIII rule 7, no appeal by leave is fixed for hearing until the security has been deposited, and the deposit must be made within one month of the grant of leave, "failing which the leave shall stand rescinded" unless the court orders otherwise.[4] The security is paid in cash at Bangladesh Bank under a challan issued by the Registrar.[4]

Order XIV then governs the record. The appellant files the certified decree within fifteen days of leave, the Registrar calls for the original record from the High Court Division, and the parties file lists of documents for the paper book within two weeks of notice that the record has arrived.[4] Within thirty days of the grant of leave, the appellant must pay court fee on the appeal under item 2 of Part II of the Third Schedule.[4]

Delay is policed. If the appellant fails to have the record prepared with due diligence, the Registrar can summon the appellant to show cause why leave should not be rescinded, and the court may rescind it.[4] Under Order XIX rule 1, the appellant must lodge fourteen copies of a concise statement of facts and arguments within thirty days of the Registrar notifying completion of the record.[4] The sequence below shows the path from judgment to hearing.

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Court fees and costs in the Appellate Division

Order VII rule 7 makes the fees in the Third Schedule payable on the documents listed there.[4] As amended, Part II of the Third Schedule prescribes Tk 700 for filing and lodging a petition for leave to appeal and Tk 75 for a caveat or concise statement.[4] The appeal fee is Tk 700 where the value of the subject matter is Tk 20,000 or less, plus Tk 30 for every additional Tk 1,000 or part, or Tk 500 where the subject matter cannot be valued, with a ceiling of Tk 1,00,000 and credit for the fee already paid on the leave petition.[4]

Court fees are only part of the cost. The Tk 2,000 cash security on the petition, the security for costs and printing charges ordered on a grant of leave, and the cost of paper books and certified copies all add up.[4] A person unable to pay may seek leave as a pauper, and Order XXII then applies so far as applicable.[4] Professional fees for Senior Advocates and Advocates-on-Record are agreed with the client; the fee scales in the Second Schedule are historic figures used on taxation and are not a guide to market rates.[4]

Review under Article 105 after a CPLA is decided

Article 105 gives the Appellate Division power, subject to any Act of Parliament and its own rules, to review any judgment pronounced or order made by it.[3] Order XXVI rule 1 permits review in a civil proceeding "on grounds similar to those mentioned in Order XLVII, rule 1" of the Code of Civil Procedure.[4] Those grounds are the discovery of new and important matter or evidence that could not be produced despite due diligence, a mistake or error apparent on the face of the record, and any other sufficient reason.[7]

Procedure and safeguards

A review application must be filed within thirty days after the judgment or order, with immediate notice to the other side.[4] Section 12(2) of the Limitation Act excludes the time needed to obtain a copy of the order sought to be reviewed.[5] The application must be accompanied by a certified copy of the judgment or order, with an affidavit and copies of documents if it relies on fresh evidence.[4]

Order XXVI then imposes four safeguards. The application must be signed by a Senior Advocate, who must certify in a reasoned opinion that review would be justifiable.[4] Without special leave, it must be drawn by the advocate who appeared at the original hearing, and it is posted, as far as practicable, before the same bench.[4] Only one review is allowed.[4] The applicant must furnish a Tk 10,000 cash security, forfeited if review is dismissed, and the court fee is half the fee paid on the original proceedings.[4]

What review can and cannot do

Review is not a second hearing. In Md Zahangir Alam v State, 18 SCOB [2023] AD 45, decided on 2 March 2023, the Appellate Division held that review "lies only against patent error of law", that the court "cannot re-assess the evidence afresh and re-hear the case", and that reopening decisions on flimsy grounds would leave "no end to the litigation".[9] Although decided on the narrower criminal ground, the reasoning reflects the court's approach to civil review.

Review does correct real injustice. In Deputy Commissioner, Brahmanbaria v Chand Miah, decided on 4 November 2021, the court reviewed and set aside its own 2016 orders dismissing leave petitions for default, condoned delay in a related petition and, finding that notice had not been served, held that "a decree obtained by practising fraud is non-existent".[10] Dismissal for default or a demonstrable procedural failure is the strongest base for review of a leave order.

Timelines and the Appellate Division backlog in 2026

The Appellate Division cleared work faster in 2026 than in earlier years, but its list remains long. According to Supreme Court figures reported on 15 September 2026, it began the year with 41,551 pending cases, received 9,139 new cases and disposed of 11,136 between January and 31 August, leaving 39,554 pending. Its average annual disposal from 2021 to 2025 was 6,096.[14]

Those numbers shape strategy. Urgent interim relief before the Chamber Judge can be obtained within days, as the April 2025 example shows.[12] The leave hearing itself depends on the cause list and on whether the matter is mentioned for early hearing. A granted appeal then requires the record, paper books and concise statements before it can be listed, so the post-leave stage commonly takes longer than the leave stage. Clients should budget for the leave hearing and, separately, for a full appeal.

Keeping the petition moving

The court has tools against delay on both sides. Order XVIII rule 10 allows the Registrar to call on a petitioner who unduly delays bringing a petition to a hearing and to place it before the court for directions.[4] A respondent facing a petition that is not being pressed can use that rule to force the matter on. A petitioner with an urgent commercial reason for an early hearing should make it explicit, supported by evidence, rather than rely on the ordinary list.

Common mistakes to avoid in a civil petition for leave to appeal Bangladesh

Most failed petitions fail for reasons that could have been avoided. The recurring errors are these:

• Using the wrong clock. Sixty days applies to civil leave petitions, but thirty days runs from refusal of a certificate, and thirty days applies to criminal petitions and to review.[4]
• Applying late for the certified copy. Only the time "requisite" for the copy is excluded, so days lost before the copy application count.[5]
• Treating filing as a stay. A stay must be sought expressly from the Chamber Judge or the court.[4]
• Rearguing facts. The petition must identify points of law and deal with merits only so far as needed.[4]
• Missing the post-leave deadlines. Leave stands rescinded if security is not deposited within one month unless the court orders otherwise.[4]
• Using review as a second appeal. One review is allowed, on narrow grounds, and the Tk 10,000 security is forfeited if it fails.[4] [9]
• Ignoring the respondent's caveat option. A respondent who does not lodge a caveat may find leave granted ex parte.[4]

Strategy for a CPLA in 2026

For the party that lost in the High Court Division, the decision to file is a decision about law, time and money. Diary the sixty days from the date of judgment, apply for the certified copies at once, and assess within the first fortnight whether there is a point of law worth the Appellate Division's time. If the High Court Division's order will be implemented quickly, prepare the stay application and the provisional petition together. Frame the grounds as the questions you want the appeal to decide, and add an alternative prayer for disposal with directions under Article 104.[2]

For the party that won, lodge a caveat as soon as an appeal is likely, so that leave is not granted without a hearing.[4] Prepare short written submissions on why the case raises no question of law, and be ready to argue against a stay or for conditions such as deposit. If leave is granted, watch the appellant's deadlines; a missed security deposit or an undiligent record can end the appeal without a hearing on the merits.[4]

Many civil petitions arise from property and land cases. Where the dispute concerns land or a development project, our real estate disputes practice handles the case from the trial court to the Appellate Division; where it arises from a writ, our constitutional and writ litigation practice runs the Supreme Court work. Enforcement of the final decree, once the Appellate Division has decided, is covered in our guide to execution cases.

Frequently asked questions

What is a CPLA in Bangladesh?

A civil petition for leave to appeal is the application by which a party asks the Appellate Division for permission to appeal against a High Court Division judgment, decree or order in a civil proceeding. Article 103(3) of the Constitution requires leave in every case outside the as-of-right categories in Article 103(2).[1]

How long do I have to file a civil petition for leave to appeal?

Sixty days from the judgment or order, or thirty days from the High Court Division's refusal of a certificate under Article 103(2)(a), under Order XIII rule 1 of the Appellate Division Rules 1988.[4]

Is the time for obtaining a certified copy excluded?

Yes. Section 12(2) of the Limitation Act 1908 excludes the day of judgment and the time requisite for obtaining a copy of the decree or order in computing the period for an application for leave to appeal.[5]

Can the Appellate Division condone a late leave petition?

Yes, under section 5 of the Limitation Act if sufficient cause is shown. The court, not the Chamber Judge, decides condonation of delay in leave petitions.[6] [4]

Can I file without the certified copy of the judgment?

A provisional petition is accepted only if all relevant documents except the copy of the impugned judgment are filed, and an application for exemption from filing certified copies goes before the court with the petition.[4]

Does filing a leave petition stay the High Court Division's order?

No. A stay must be sought expressly. A single Judge in Chamber can hear stay applications in civil proceedings under Order V rule 2, subject to reconsideration by a bench of at least three Judges.[4]

What happens after leave is granted?

The petition is registered as an appeal. The appellant must deposit security within one month or the leave stands rescinded, file the certified decree within fifteen days, and pay the appeal court fee within thirty days.[4]

What are the court fees for a leave petition?

The Third Schedule, as amended, prescribes Tk 700 for a leave petition, plus a Tk 2,000 cash security under Order XVIII rule 12 that is forfeited if the petition is dismissed. The appeal fee after leave is calculated on value, capped at Tk 1,00,000.[4]

Can I seek review if leave is refused?

Yes, once, under Article 105 and Order XXVI, within thirty days, on grounds similar to Order XLVII rule 1 of the Code. It must be signed by a Senior Advocate with a reasoned certificate and backed by a Tk 10,000 security.[3] [4]

How long does a CPLA take in 2026?

Urgent stays can be dealt with in days, but the leave hearing depends on the cause list. The Appellate Division had 39,554 cases pending on 31 August 2026, after disposing of 11,136 in eight months.[14]