By Aditya Singh Raghav
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Certiorari means “to be certified”. It is a command or order to any lower court or tribunal to transfer a case pending with them to itself or some other superior authority. It can be issued by Supreme Court or High Court to quash the order passed by any lower court or tribunal. Certiorari can be issued only when the order or decision has already been taken by the lower court.
Who can file for certiorari?
Certiorari can be filled only by the aggrieved person. If the person against whom certiorari is filled, does not obeys it than he may be liable for contempt of court as it is an original proceeding in the superior court.
When certiorari can be issued:
• Available against any judicial or quasi-judicial authority
• Against government if acting in judicial capacity
• Against administrative authorities affecting the rights of individuals
• Any authority must be having legal authority, acts in excess of legal authority
• Violation of natural justice, excess, absence or abuse of jurisdiction, fraud, error on the face of records etc.
When certiorari cannot be issued:
• Against legislative and private bodies or private individuals
• To correct an error of fact
In Hari Vishnu vs Ahmed Ishaque (AIR 1955 SC 223), court held that an error of law which is apparent on face of records can be corrected by issue of certiorari but not an error of fact. In Province of Bombay vs Kushaldas (AIR 1950 SC 22), court stated that writ of certiorari lies when any body or person having the duty to act in judicial capacity and has power to affects rights acts in excess of legal authority.
Certiorari is a corrective remedy – any error of law could be corrected by it and not an error of fact. It is issued when superior court believes that the lower court or tribunal doesn’t has no jurisdiction or commits error of law and thus acting as a curative writ.
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Aditya is a 2nd year law student at National Law University Delhi. An adventurous person, he actively participates in sports activities and loves to go trekking. He is a football fan and you can easily find him discussing football matches with his friends. His interests include Commercial Law, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and Competition Law.
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