Report No. 58
Scope of the jurisdiction
5.6. It is thus clear that the scope of Article 226 is very wide and its provisions are intended to afford to the citizens a speedy remedy against illegal executive or administrative actions as well as illegal invasion of their Fundamental Rights. On the whole, this Article has served a very useful purpose and thereby sustained the doctrine of the rule of law, on which our democratic way of life is founded.
We are aware that, in some cases, in their zeal to do justice as between citizens and the State, some High Courts have occasionally entertained petitions which strictly do not satisfy the requirement of Article 226 and have granted relief, overlooking the limitations obviously involved in the exercise of the power conferred by the Article. But, such unjustified exercise of the power in a small number of cases does not detract from the significance and usefulness of the conferment of the power itself.
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