Report No. 58
Writ jurisdiction of the High Courts
2.24. The next topic to be mentioned concerns what is usually-referred to as "Writ jurisdiction". Under Article 226 of the Constitution, the High Courts have been vested with jurisdiction to issue directions, orders and writs for the enforcement of fundamental rights and for other purposes. These include writs in the nature of the five "prerogative writs", as usually known to students of constitutional and administrative law, but the orders and directions which can be issued by the High Courts are not necessarily confined to them. The jurisdiction to issue such writs was, before the Constitution, possessed by only a few High Courts. The constitutional jurisdiction is now exercisable by every High Court, and its popularity is now well-known.
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