The Constitution is the supreme law of the land in India, and Articles 32 and 226 are termed as the soul of the Constitution of India. Since the people are given fundamental rights, they would lose their essence if there was no mechanism to safeguard those rights. Hence, writs are the means for protecting those fundamental rights. There are 5 types of writs in Indian Constitution which are the major players being the knight in the shining armour.
Know the 5 Types of Writs in Indian Constitution
1. Habeas Corpus Writ
It is a latin term wherein Habeas corpus means ‘to have the body’. The writ of habeas corpus issued by the Court orders for physical presence of a person. Among the 5 types of writs in Indian Constitution, this is the only writ which can be issued against anyone, including a private person, organisation, or even the Police.
The idea is that nobody should be detained or arrested illegally, in violation of law. So even if a person is arrested by the police, if there is some legal gap as against the process supposed to be followed, the Court may issue a writ of habeas corpus and then look at the facts and circumstances for confirmation on the legal aspect.
2. Writ of Mandamus
The Latin term mandamus means ‘to mandate’ or ‘to command’. The mandamus writ is an official order used to enforce the doing of a particular thing. Such an order is issued by a Court against the inferior courts, public officials, or even the government, for the duties they refused to perform.
It can therefore be understood that a certain duty is missed out to be performed by a public authority. Thus, a writ of mandamus cannot be issued against any private person or a group. It can also not be issued against public officials for the non-mandatory duties. The President of India as well as the Chief Justice of India are not subject to the mandamus writ.
3. Quo Warranto Writ
The Latin term quo warranto means ‘by what warrant’ or ‘by what authority’. For a public office, there are certain qualifications which direct who can and cannot hold that office, basically the eligibility for the specific position. When a Court issues a writ of quo warranto, it questions the authority of the person holding the office, and the other person has to prove his/her eligibility for the same. The Court may even declare such an office to be vacant while issuing a quo warranto writ.
4. Writ of Certiorari
In latin, certiorari means ‘to certify’. A certiorari writ is issued by the higher Court to an inferior Court or Tribunal to transfer a pending case or to dispose of an earlier order due to some legal errors. The reason could be of jurisdiction or some other error in the judgments passed by such an inferior court or tribunal.
It may be noted that a writ of certiorari can only be issued when things are decided, have attained certainty. In other words, it cannot be issued while the case proceedings are still pending.
5. Writ of Prohibition
As the term suggests, it means ‘to forbid’ or ‘to stop’. The Higher Court issues a prohibition writ against the inferior court or other judicial bodies when they are acting beyond jurisdiction or taking up the jurisdiction which they did not possess. The idea is to prevent rather than curing a gap. With this, it can be understood that while a writ of prohibition is issued during pendency of the proceedings, writ of certiorari is issued once the matter is concluded/decided.
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