Which one of the following is not a writ?

Q: What is the answer to NDA (II) 2021 GAT Q59?

D. Correct — D, Severability. The Constitution empowers the Supreme Court (Article 32) and the High Courts (Article 226) to issue five writs — Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari and Quo Warranto. Mandamus, Habeas Corpus and Certiorari are three of these. Severability is not a writ at all — it is the doctrine of severability (linked to Article 13) under which, if part of a law is unconstitutional, only that part is struck down while the valid remainder survives. So the item that is not a writ is severability.

(a)Mandamus
(b)Habeas Corpus
(c)Certiorari
(d)Severability

Answer

Why

Correct — D, Severability. The Constitution empowers the Supreme Court (Article 32) and the High Courts (Article 226) to issue five writs — Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari and Quo Warranto. Mandamus, Habeas Corpus and Certiorari are three of these. Severability is not a writ at all — it is the doctrine of severability (linked to Article 13) under which, if part of a law is unconstitutional, only that part is struck down while the valid remainder survives. So the item that is not a writ is severability.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Mandamus — Mandamus ('we command') is a genuine writ directing a public authority to perform a duty it has failed to do, so it is a writ.
(b)
Habeas Corpus — Habeas Corpus ('to have the body') is a writ used to test the legality of a person's detention, so it is one of the five writs.
(c)
Certiorari — Certiorari is a writ by which a higher court quashes or transfers a case decided by a lower court or tribunal, so it too is a writ.

Concept

Writs are formal court orders that protect Fundamental Rights and enforce legal duties. The Constitution recognises five: Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari and Quo Warranto. The Supreme Court issues them under Article 32 and the High Courts under Article 226. Severability, by contrast, is a doctrine of judicial review, not an order the court issues to a party.

The trap places three real writs beside a legal term that also comes from constitutional law. Recall the closed list of five writs, and severability — a doctrine, not an order — stands out as the odd one.

Key facts

The five writs are Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari and Quo Warranto.
The Supreme Court issues writs under Article 32; High Courts issue them under Article 226.
Article 226 gives High Courts a wider writ power (for rights and 'any other purpose') than Article 32.
Severability is a doctrine linked to Article 13, not a writ.

The Supreme Court of India building, New Delhi — The Supreme Court issues the five writs under Article 32; severability is a doctrine of judicial review, not a writ.Image: Subhashish Panigrahi · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Study next

The five writs and their specific usesWrit jurisdiction under Article 32 versus Article 226The doctrine of severability and Article 13Judicial review of laws and the basic structurePublic interest litigation and writ remedies

Common traps

Mistaking severability, a doctrine of judicial review, for a writ because it is a constitutional-law term.
Forgetting that the list of writs is closed at five — Prohibition and Quo Warranto are the other two.

Asked as 'which is not a writ' — recall the closed set of five writs and reject the doctrine that sneaks in.

Related PYQs

UPSC_2022_GS1_Q182022Open & attempt →

With reference to the writs issued by the Courts in India, consider the following statements: 1. Mandamus will not lie against a private organisation unless it is entrusted with a public duty. 2. Mandamus will not lie against a Company even though it may be a Government Company. 3. Any public minded person can be a petitioner to move the Court to obtain the writ of Quo Warranto. Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer(c) 1 and 3 only

Same concept — the writs (Mandamus and Quo Warranto). That UPSC item probes how Mandamus and Quo Warranto operate; this NDA item tests which term in the list is not a writ at all.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
The writ issued to secure the release of a person from unlawful detention is
- (a)Mandamus
- (b)Habeas Corpus
- (c)Quo Warranto
- (d)Certiorari
Answer(b) Habeas Corpus — it tests the legality of a detention.
practice — not a real PYQ
The Supreme Court's power to issue writs for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights flows from which Article?
- (a)Article 32
- (b)Article 226
- (c)Article 136
- (d)Article 143
Answer(a) Article 32 — the right to constitutional remedies.