Indian Polity Mains 2005

[vaibhavi]

hi..
i need help with this 2005 question... abt the common ground between Articles 14 and 226 of the Indian Constitution..

[Nethra K Putti]

Article 14 says:
Equality before Law : Art 14 says that the state shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of laws within the territory of India. The word 'person' includes legal persons,viz, statutory corporations, companies, registered societies etc. the concept of 'equality before law' is british origin. this connotes that : a) the absence of any special privilages in favour of any person, b) the equal subjection of all persons to the ordinary law of the land admnistered by ordinary law courts, c) no person (which rich/poor, high/low , official/non-official ) is above the law.

Article 226: High courts issues the Writs of Habeas corpus, mamdamus, prohibition, certiorari & quo-warrento.

Habeas Corpus : It is latin term which literally means 'to have a body of'. it is an order issued by the court to a person who has detained another person, to produce the body of the latter before it. it would set the detained person free, if the detention is found to be illegal. on the other hand it says: a)detention is lawful, b) the proceeding is for contempt of a legislature / court, c) detention is outside the jurisdiction of the court.

Mandamus : it literally means 'we command'. it is a command issued by the court to a public official asking him to perform his official duties that he has failed or refused to perform. it can also be issued on the public body, an inferior court, a tribunal.

Prohibition : it means 'to forbid'. it is issued by a higher court to a lower court or tribunal to prevent the latter from exceeding its jurisdiction or usurping a jurisdiction that it doesnot possess. The writ of prohibition can be issued only against judicial & quasi-judicial authorities. it is not available against administrative authorities, legislative bodies & private individuals.

Certiorari : it means 'to be certified' / 'to be informed'. it is issued by a higher court to a lower court either to transfer a case pending with latter to itself or squash the order of the latter in case.

Quo-Warranto : it means 'by what authority / warrant'. it is issued by court to enquire into the legality of claim of a person to a public office. it cannot be issued in cases of ministerial office or private office.

[lalitha]

Article 14 of Indian constitution guarantees some rights to the persons in India. If any of these rights are violated, the person can approach the High Court of that state to issue writ and protect his rights. The writs have been enumerated by Nethra.
Article 14 happens to be a part of a wide set of circumstances under which a High Court can issue the writs. In the present context, viz violation of article 14, even Supreme court is empowered to issue any of the above mentioned writs.
So in a nutshell, a person take recourse to article 226 if he feels he is wronged under the article 14 or if he feels he has been discriminated against.

[chanda_s]

that's bang on target, lalitha.

article 226 of indian constitution provides for enforcement of fundemental rights and any other rights provided to a person. under this section any person can directly go tho the high court to requesting it to enforce his rights provided to him by the constitution of india. article 14 gives certain fundamental right to persons in india and also provides for its enforcement through the writ jurisdiction of the high court.

as lalitha pointed out very correctly, even supreme court also has writ jurisdiction in cases of violation of fundamental rights.