First, there are 5 writs. You can remember them via mnemonic in this tweet
![Twitter avatar for @CseWhy](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/CseWhy.jpg)
Next, what do these mean?
Let us take them up one by one as per the mnemonic we learnt in the above tweet.
1. Mandamus
- "We Command"
- A command by court to perform duties that have been refused to perform!
- This writ 'demands action' ie activity 🏃
- issues against public official/body/corporation
- can't be issued against a Pvt individual/body
eg: A victim gets their complain for FIR rejected. They can move SC/HC seeking 'action' of having an FIR registered (if case is legit).
Here, police will have to 'perform duty that have been refused to perform'
2. Prohibition
- "We prohibit"
- Prohibition of action by officers of lower court in cases which do not fall in their jurisdiction or against rule of natural justice
- 'demands inactivity'🧍
- Issued ONLY against judicial/quasi-judicial authority
eg: Say, a judicial officer with personal interest in the case might have their bias impact the decision (and principles of natural justice)
HC/SC can issue a Prohibition on their suspension/removal from that case
3. Certiorari
- "We certify"
- certification to move a case from inferior to superior court
- this is a 'curative writ' i.e. when higher court believes lower court either did not have jurisdiction in the case or committed legal error
eg: Famous Roe v/s Wade case of 1973 had been decided after grant of certiorari against a lower court order (which was recently revisited)
4. Habeus Corpus
- "To have the body of"
- directs physical presence of detained before court
- can be against pvt/public body/individual
- Issued when detained
- is not produced before magistrate in 24 hrs
- for no violation of law or unconstitutional law
- with malintent
eg:
- ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla is a famous case of Habeus Corpus
- Sitaram Yechury filed Habeus Corpus in SC against detention of CPI (M) leader M Y Tarigami post abrogation of Article 370
5. Quo Warranto
- "by what warrant?"
- enquires legality of claim of person/public office
- prevents an officer to act in an office in which they are not entitled to
- only against public individual/body
eg: during COVID19, a large number of civil defense volunteers (CDV) were deployed in streets of Delhi. At a few places, the cases of collecting challan by them was brought to news.
Since the power to issue challan is with police, one could go to SC u/ Quo Warranto against CDV
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