Context: The Supreme Court recently decided to examine a habeas corpus plea made by the children of a Pakistan national who they believe has been unlawfully detained for seven years.
Important value additions
The Indian Constitution empowers the Supreme Court to issue writs for enforcement of any of the fundamental rights conferred by Part III of Indian Constitution under Article 32.
Thus the power to issue writs is primarily a provision made to make available the Right to Constitutional Remedies to every citizen.
There are five types of Writs: Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari and Quo warranto.
Habeas Corpus: It literally means “you may have the body.” The writ is issued to produce a person who has been detained, whether in prison or in private custody, before a court and to release him if such detention is found illegal.
Mandamus: A judicial writ issued as a command to an inferior court or ordering a person to perform a public or statutory duty.
Prohibition: A writ of prohibition is a writ directing a subordinate to stop doing something the law prohibits. This writ is often issued by a superior court to the lower court directing it not to proceed with a case which does not fall under its jurisdiction.
Certiorari: In law, certiorari is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency.
Quo warranto: Quo warranto is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or franchise they claim to hold.
