Writs — Set 4

Correct Answer: C. We command

• **Mandamus = 'We Command' (Latin)** = 'Mandamus' is Latin for 'We Command' — it is a judicial order from a superior court commanding a public official, body, or inferior court to perform a mandatory public duty. • **Enforces mandatory (not discretionary) duties** — Mandamus compels action only where the duty is mandatory and legally defined; it cannot be used to force the exercise of discretionary powers in a particular way. • 💡 Option A (To be certified) is the meaning of Certiorari; Option B (To have the body) is the meaning of Habeas Corpus; Option D (By what authority) is the meaning of Quo-Warranto — only 'We Command' means Mandamus.

Correct Answer: B. Quo-Warranto

• **Quo-Warranto = 'By what authority'** = Quo-Warranto asks 'By what authority or warrant' — the court demands the officeholder to show the lawful basis for occupying a substantive public office. • **Protects public offices from usurpers** — if the person cannot show legal authority, they are removed from office; Quo-Warranto is the only writ that directly removes an individual from a public office. • 💡 Option A (Certiorari) quashes orders, not office occupation; Option C (Prohibition) stops ongoing proceedings of lower courts; Option D (Mandamus) compels performance of a public duty — only Quo-Warranto asks 'by what authority'.

Correct Answer: B. 5

• **5 writs in the Indian Constitution** = the Constitution mentions exactly 5 writs: Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari, and Quo-Warranto — all derived from English Common Law. • **Borrowed from English Law** — these writs originated in the English legal system as prerogative writs; the Constitution adopted them under Articles 32 (SC) and 226 (HC). • 💡 Option A (6 writs) is incorrect — there are exactly 5 writs in the Indian Constitution; Option C (3 writs) is incorrect; Option D (4 writs) is incorrect — the correct number is 5, matching with the five named writs.

Correct Answer: A. Basic Structure of Constitution

• **Article 32 — part of Basic Structure** = the Supreme Court declared Article 32 to be part of the 'Basic Structure' of the Constitution in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), meaning it cannot be removed or abridged even by constitutional amendment. • **Right to constitutional remedies** — Part III includes Article 32 as a Fundamental Right specifically guaranteeing the right to move the Supreme Court for enforcement of any other Fundamental Right. • 💡 Option B (Fundamental Duties) are in Part IV-A and are non-justiciable; Option C (Directive Principles) are in Part IV and non-justiciable; Option D (Preamble) is the introduction — none are the category to which Article 32 belongs.

Correct Answer: D. Habeas Corpus

• **Habeas Corpus — writ for personal liberty** = Habeas Corpus is specifically designed to protect the personal liberty of any person (citizen or non-citizen) against unlawful detention by state or private persons. • **Burden on detaining authority** — the court issues this writ requiring the detaining authority to produce the detained person and justify the detention; if unjustified, the person is immediately released. • 💡 Option A (Certiorari) is for quashing lower court orders; Option B (Mandamus) commands performance of public duty; Option C (Quo-Warranto) challenges the right to hold public office — only Habeas Corpus directly protects personal liberty.

Correct Answer: B. Only during emergency

• **Mandamus against State Legislature — generally not** = Mandamus cannot generally be issued against a State Legislature because courts do not interfere with the legislative process; Parliament or State Legislatures exercise sovereign legislative power. • **Why not** — Mandamus enforces mandatory duties of executive/administrative/judicial bodies; legislatures' duty to make laws is largely political and discretionary, not judicially enforceable by Mandamus. • 💡 Option A (Yes, always) is incorrect; Option D (Yes, with Governor's permission) is incorrect — no such provision exists; this question highlights that Mandamus applies to executive actions, not to sovereign legislative choices.

Correct Answer: C. Habeas Corpus

• **Habeas Corpus — 'bulwark of individual liberty'** = Habeas Corpus has been called the 'bulwark of individual liberty' because it is the most immediate and effective remedy against arbitrary or illegal detention. • **Speed and effectiveness** — the court acts quickly on a Habeas Corpus petition; it is available in civil as well as criminal detention, against state as well as private detention, making it uniquely broad. • 💡 Option A (Prohibition) is described as 'preventive' — it stops lower court jurisdiction excess; Option B (Certiorari) is described as 'curative'; Option D (Mandamus) is described as 'We Command' — only Habeas Corpus carries the 'bulwark of liberty' description.

Correct Answer: D. Supreme Court and High Courts

• **SC and HCs — only writ-issuing courts** = in India, only the Supreme Court (Article 32) and the High Courts (Article 226) can issue writs; subordinate courts (district courts, etc.) have no writ power. • **Parliament can extend, but has not** — Article 32(3) allows Parliament to grant writ power to other courts, but no such law has been passed so far — all writ jurisdiction remains with SC and HCs. • 💡 Option A (Supreme Court and District Courts) is wrong — district courts have no writ power; Option B (Only Supreme Court) misses the HCs; Option C (High Courts and Tribunals) is wrong — Tribunals have no writ power; only SC + HCs is correct.

Correct Answer: C. Higher court to lower court/tribunal

• **Certiorari — higher court to lower court/tribunal** = Certiorari is issued by a higher court (SC/HC) directed downward to a lower court or tribunal — it is always from a superior to an inferior judicial body. • **Calls for records to review** — the higher court calls for the case records of the lower court to review whether it acted within jurisdiction and without error of law; if not, the order is quashed. • 💡 Option A (Lower court to higher court) inverts the direction — writs always flow downward from higher to lower; Option B (Tribunal to court) is also incorrect; Option D (Executive to Judiciary) is conceptually wrong — writs are issued by courts.

Correct Answer: C. Prohibition

• **Prohibition = 'to forbid'** = the writ of Prohibition literally means 'to forbid' — it forbids a lower court from continuing with proceedings that are outside its jurisdiction or natural justice. • **Issued while proceedings pending** — Prohibition is issued while the case is still being heard in the lower court (before a final order); once a final order is made, Certiorari must be sought instead. • 💡 Option A (Mandamus) means 'We Command'; Option B (Habeas Corpus) means 'to have the body'; Option D (Certiorari) means 'to be certified' — only Prohibition means 'to forbid'.