Writ Jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India-
What is writ of Mandamus –
- A writ of Mandamus may be defined as a command issued by the Hon’ble High Court to the State or its Authorities requiring the performance of a particular duty specified, which duty results from the official duty or by operation of law. To put it differently, it may be stated that a writ of mandamus is imposed for securing judicial enforcement of public duties, performance of which has been wrongfully refused.
- The writ of mandamus is regarded as one of the highest remedies in the Indian Judicial System.
- Two pre-conditions must exists before granting remedy by way of mandamus, first; it must be shown that the petitioner has a clear legal right to the performance of a particular act or duty at the hands of respondents and second; it must appear that the law affords no other adequate or specific remedy to secure the enforcement of the right and the performance of the duty which it is sought to enforce.
- Thus, the condition precedent for the issue of mandamus is the presence of statutory right.
The purpose of mandamus is to remedy defects of justice. It lies in the cases where there is a specific right but no specific legal remedy for enforcing that right. Generally, it is not available in anticipation of any injury except when the petitioner is likely to be affected by an official act in contravention of a statutory duty or where an illegal or unconstitutional order is made. The grant of mandamus is, therefore, an equitable remedy; a matter for the discretion of the court, the exercise of which is governed by well-settled principles.
The High Courts in India exercising their jurisdiction under Article 226 have the power to issue a writ of mandamus or a writ in the nature of mandamus or to pass orders and give necessary directions where the Government or a public authority has failed to exercise or has wrongly exercised the discretion conferred upon it by a statute or a rule or a policy decision of the Government or has exercised such discretion mala fide or on irrelevant considerations or by ignoring the relevant considerations and materials or in such a manner as to frustrate the object of conferring such discretion or the policy for implementing which such discretion has been conferred. In all such cases and in any other fit and proper case a High Court can, in the exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 226, issue a writ of mandamus or a writ in the nature of mandamus or pass orders and give directions to compel the performance in a proper and lawful manner of the discretion conferred upon the Government or a public authority, and in a proper case, in order to prevent injustice resulting to the concerned parties, the Court may itself pass an order or give directions which the Government or the public authority should have passed or given had it properly and lawfully exercised its discretion. Advocate allahabad High Court for writ of mandamus.