Unit 4 of Drafting, Pleading and Conveyancing – I (syllabus: Module IV — writ petitions under Articles 32, 226 and 227 of the Constitution, and public interest litigation). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- What is the difference between Articles 32, 226 and 227?
- What are the five writs, and against whom does each issue?
- What is special about drafting a habeas corpus petition?
- What must a petition for mandamus plead that other writ petitions need not?
- On what grounds does certiorari issue, and when will it be refused?
- What are the parts of a writ petition, and which four declarations must every one contain?
- How is a petition of superintendence under Article 227 drafted, and how is it not an appeal?
- What must a public interest litigation show that an ordinary writ petition need not?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Provisions
- Constitution of India, s. Arts. 32, 226 and 227
- Constitution of India, s. Arts. 32(2) and 226(1)
- Constitution of India, s. Arts. 21, 22(5) and 32
- Constitution of India, s. Art. 226(1), with Art. 12
- Constitution of India, s. Art. 227, with CPC O. XXXIX rr. 1 and 2
- Constitution of India, s. Arts. 32 and 226
Leading cases
- B Ramachandra Rao v State of Orissa; Lalu Bhai J Patel v Union of India
- Calcutta Gas Co v State of West Bengal; Praga Tools Corp v C V Imanual
- Surya Devi Rai v Ram Chander Rai; Syed Yakoob v K S Radhakrishnan; Prabodh Verma v State of Uttar Pradesh; Udit Narayan Singh v Additional Member
- Greater Mohali Area Development Authority v Manju Jain
- State of Jharkhand v Surendra Kumar Srivastava