Mandamus means ‘command’. Writ of Mandamus is issued by the court to any public authority which refuses to perform its legal duties. It can be issued against any public official, public organization, public corporation, any tribunal, or any inferior court, and even government. But it cannot be issued against any governors of any state, the President, any current chief justice, or any private corporations. The writ of mandamus is issued or granted by the court to keep the public authorities in check and to keep them within their jurisdictions and powers. Writ of mandamus requires some act on part of the body or person to whom it is addressed. The demand is basically to perform a public duty which it has neglected or refused to perform. It can be either a public duty or a quasi-public duty. The person demanding the writ should have a legal right to seek the specific performance of that act.

In Union of India v. S.B. Vohraxi, the honourable Supreme Court held that, the writ of mandamus is issued in favour of the person who has a legal right to seek the performance of some act by any person or any public authority. It can be issued against a person or a public corporation who has refused or overlooked to perform their legal duty. The main object of writ of mandamus is to prevent failure of justice and it is to be issued where there is no legal remedy specified under any law.

In the case All India Tea Trading Co. v. S.D.O, interest on compensation amount was not paid by the land acquisition officer. So, writ of mandamus was issued against the land acquisition officer in this case to fulfil his legal duty.

In the case Suganmal v. State of M.P. the petitioner in this case filed for grant of writ of   mandamus for refunding of tax by the respondent. The Supreme Court said that where the rules do not provide for refund of tax levied and an assessment order was set aside by the court, a writ of mandamus cannot be granted. The proper remedy in this case will be to file a suit for claiming the refund.

Instances where writ of mandamus will be granted:

• If tax is collected by state illegally, then a writ of mandamus can be issued against the state.
• Against any university under their supervision which changed their guidelines after the students gave their exams, to their disadvantage.
• Where the government authority neither communicates nor informs the parties the reason for making a reference under Section 12(5) of Industrial Dispute Act, the party that is aggrieved can file for legal recourse of mandamus.
• When an order is passed by Income Tax Tribunal, but the Income Tax Officer refuses to carry out those instructions.
• When in a case an order of detention is passed against the petitioner, but he/she is not under detention.

The writ of mandamus can be issued by Supreme Court for enforcement of fundamental rights under Article 32 and by the high court under Article 226 for enforcement of fundamental rights as well as statutory rights. There can be many more instances where writ of mandamus can be issued, some of which are mentioned above.

Instances where writ of mandamus cannot be issued:

• Writ of mandamus cannot be issued to invoke any contractual obligations.
• Private institutions which receive grants from the government does not become public, thus no mandamus can be issued.
• It cannot be granted against a private arbitrator, commanding him to grant an award.
• Grant of license by a government authority cannot be intervened with, grant of mandamus.

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.

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We also have a Facebook Group Restarter Moms for Mothers or Women who would like to rejoin their careers post a career break or women who are enterpreneurs.

We are also running a series Inspirational Women from January 2021 to March 31,2021, featuring around 1000 stories about Indian Women, who changed the world. #choosetochallenge