Habeas Corpus and Mandamus


Short Notes:

Habeas Corpus: 
 A writ of habeas corpus is used to compel a person who has detained another to produce such another before the court, so that the court can know the grounds on which the person has been confined and to release the person if there is no legal justification for that person’s confinement. A writ habeas corpus would become infructuous if the detenu is produced before the magistrate.

Illustration:  The police arrested A from his home, and no information about A’s where about or place of confinement, condition, was available for days on end. A’s brother B, files a petition before the Supreme Court can issue writ of habeas corpus against the police authorities, directing them to produce  A before the court.


Mandamus

The word “mandamus” translates literally into ‘command’. This writ is issued to provide for remedies for the enforcement of rights where a fundamental right is infringed by a statute, statutory order, or a “non-statutory’ executive order. (Prabodh Vs State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 1985 SC 167).



Illustration: A, a district collector, issues an order, directing the jail authorities not to permit inmates at a prison to vote during the upcoming general elections. B, an inmate, causes a petition under A.32 to be filled before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court can issue a writ of mandamus, quashing the District Collector’s order, and directing the jail authorities to ensure that inmates’ right to vote is not violated.




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