RAS question
Under Article 226, a High Court can issue writs for:
Correct answer: (A) Enforcement of Fundamental Rights and for any other purpose.
Article 226 empowers a High Court to issue writs for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights and for any other purpose.
Explanation
Article 226 is broader because its operative text is not confined to Fundamental Rights. The cited Constitution text says that, despite Article 32, every High Court has power across its jurisdiction to issue directions, orders or writs to any person or authority, including the Government in appropriate cases. It then lists writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari, and states that they may be issued for enforcement of rights conferred by Part III and for any other purpose. That final phrase is the key: unlike the Article 32 comparison in the explanation, Article 226 is not limited to Fundamental Rights alone.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Article 226 is not limited to action against the State government; the official text covers any person or authority, including the Government in appropriate cases.
- (C) Article 226 is framed around directions, orders or writs, not only criminal matters, and its stated purposes are enforcement of Part III rights and any other purpose.
- (D) Article 226 expressly adds the phrase "for any other purpose", so it is wider than a remedy only for enforcement of Fundamental Rights.
Concept
This tests writ jurisdiction and constitutional remedies, especially the scope difference between Article 226 and Article 32. It recurs in RAS-style polity questions because the phrase "any other purpose" is the trap that makes the High Court's writ power wider.