Maintainability of Writ Jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution of Pakistan: A Critical Exposition

Abstract

This work briefly discusses the constitutional framework of writs in Pakistan. It briefly discusses the different types of writs. It discusses the ambit and scope of maintainability of Article 199 of the Constitution of Pakistan. The main findings of this work are that there are four essential pre-requisites that must be fulfilled for a High Court to be able to exercise jurisdiction over a particular case. These four pre-requisites include: whether there is alternate remedy which is both speedy and well-suited to the grievance caused to the petitioner. Whether the petitioner can approach the Court under Article 199 of the Constitution in the first place. Whether the respondent is someone against who the Court can issue a writ against in the first place, such as a federal or provincial government authority or a body creation of a federal or provincial law, or a semi-public institution, where the state has a majority involvement and whether the rules of the concerned public institution have statutory force behind them. Lastly, whether the petition comes within the territorial jurisdiction of the Court. Although this rule does not apply to federal authorities as they function all over Pakistan, provided they cause any sort of grievance to the petitioner in the province he is living. In which case he may approach the concerned provincial High Court and in matters of judicial review of a statute he may choose at his own convenience to approach either the Islamabad High Court or a provincial High Court. The methodology used in this paper is doctrinal.