Writs Against Non-State Entities In India – Pushing The Boundary

It is well settled law that remedies under writ jurisdiction, intended to secure the performance of public or statutory duty, are generally only available against the State, as defined in Article 12 of the Constitution of India.

However, there are some extensions that enable writ jurisdiction to apply to private persons and most of these extensions have been via judicial pronouncements and mainly on the ground that the private person is performing a statutory or quasi-statutory duty or role.

The latest case to reiterate this principle was Jasmine Ebenezer Arthur v HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited and Ors., [2021 (1) CTC 246] in which the petitioner sought a writ of mandamus directing the respondent insurance company to honour a claim under the insurance policy. The respondent contended that the writ petition was not maintainable as the company did not fall within the meaning of 'State' and was therefore excluded from the Court's writ jurisdiction.