The Five Writs
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Available under both Art. 32 and Art. 226, borrowed from English common law:
| Writ | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Habeas Corpus | "You may have the body" — compels production of a detained person before the court; tests the legality of detention |
| Mandamus | "We command" — directs a public authority (or a public duty of a private body) to perform a duty it has failed to perform |
| Prohibition | Issued by a higher court to a lower court/tribunal to stop it from exceeding its jurisdiction or acting contrary to natural justice |
| Certiorari | Quashes an order already passed by a lower court/tribunal acting beyond its jurisdiction or in violation of natural justice |
| Quo Warranto | "By what authority" — questions the legal right of a person to hold a public office to which they may not be entitled |
Mandamus cannot be issued against the President or a Governor in their personal capacity, against a private individual/body (unless it is discharging a public duty), or to enforce a purely contractual obligation.
Memory hook — the courtroom drama in five scenes: Walk through one imagined case, in writ order. A body is produced before the judge — Habeas Corpus ("you may have the body"). The judge commands an official to do the job they've been dodging — Mandamus ("we command"). A lower court is about to overstep, so a higher court stops it before it acts — Prohibition. Too late — the lower court already passed the bad order, so the higher court quashes it after the fact — Certiorari. Finally, an impostor claims a public office, and the court demands "by what authority?" — Quo Warranto. Note the built-in ordering trick: Prohibition is preventive (stops an act before it happens), Certiorari is curative (undoes an act after it happens) — they are mirror images of each other in time.
Practice Recall: Try to name all five writs, and match each to a one-line meaning, before reading on.
Answer: Habeas Corpus (produce the detained body; tests legality of detention), Mandamus (command a public duty be performed), Prohibition (stop a lower court/tribunal from exceeding jurisdiction), Certiorari (quash an order already passed beyond jurisdiction), Quo Warranto (question authority to hold a public office).