Writ Jurisdiction

As you have already seen in the chapter on Fundamental Rights, any individual whose fundamental right has been violated can move the Supreme Court directly for a remedy, without first exhausting every lower court. The remedy the Court gives takes the form of a writ — a formal order compelling the executive to act, or to stop acting, in a particular way.

The Constitution names five kinds of writs the Supreme Court (and, equally, the High Courts) can issue:

• Habeas Corpus — literally "you must have the body"; it orders that a person who has been detained be produced before the court, so the legality of the detention can be checked.
• Mandamus — a command to a public official or authority to perform a duty it is legally bound to perform.
• Prohibition — an order to a lower court or tribunal to stop proceedings that fall outside its jurisdiction.
• Certiorari — an order transferring a case, or quashing a decision, from a lower court or tribunal to a higher one.
• Quo Warranto — a challenge asking by what authority a person holds a public office, used to remove someone occupying an office they are not legally entitled to. …