Short answer. Yes. The Court of Appeals may dismiss the petition outright, stating specific reasons, or instead require the respondent to comment within ten days. Only pleadings the court requires are automatically allowed; any other pleading or paper needs leave of court to be filed.
What the law says
The court may dismiss the petition outright with specific reasons for such dismissal or require the respondent to file a comment on the same within ten days from notice.
Rule 46, Section 5 — Action by the court. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Only pleadings required by the court shall be allowed. All other pleadings and papers may be filed only with leave of court.
Rule 46, Section 5 — Action by the court. Read the full provision →
Outright dismissal or a comment order
Just as with Rule 43 petitions before the Court of Appeals, Section 5 lets the court act early on an original petition. The court may dismiss the petition outright with specific reasons for such dismissal or require the respondent to file a comment on the same within ten days from notice. Requiring specific reasons for an outright dismissal keeps that early exit from being an unexplained shortcut.
A tighter pleading regime after that
If the case survives that initial screening, filing is not freewheeling from there. Only pleadings required by the court shall be allowed. All other pleadings and papers may be filed only with leave of court. A party cannot simply file whatever additional motion or paper it wishes without first asking the court's permission, even where the party believes the additional filing would help its position.
Why this discipline exists
Original actions in the Court of Appeals — certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, and quo warranto — are meant to be resolved efficiently on the papers the court actually calls for. Restricting unrequested filings to those with leave of court keeps the proceeding from sprawling into the kind of extended, multi-stage pleading exchange typical of an ordinary civil action at trial, where the parties largely control the pace and volume of filings themselves.
What outright dismissal at this stage means for the petitioner
Because outright dismissal under Section 5 can happen before the respondent files anything, a petitioner should treat the petition itself as the one chance to persuade the court the case deserves a comment order rather than immediate dismissal. A petition that clearly states the grounds relied upon, attaches the required certified copies, and shows compliance with the procedural requirements of Rule 46 gives the court less basis to dismiss it outright for insufficiency on its face.
Who these two rules bind and what filing without leave risks
The screening power binds the Court of Appeals itself, which must state specific reasons if it dismisses outright rather than issuing an unreasoned order. The leave-of-court requirement binds every party to the case, petitioner and respondent alike, once the initial screening is past — neither side gets to file supplemental pleadings or papers as of right simply because the case is proceeding. A pleading or paper filed without the required leave is not automatically part of the record the court will consider, since Section 5 conditions its admission on that leave being granted, so a party who files first and asks permission later risks having the filing disregarded entirely.
Related provisions
- Rule 46, Section 5 — Action by the court
- Rule 46, Section 3 — Contents and filing of petition; effect of non
- Rule 46, Section 7 — Effect of failure to file comment