AAP Tax Law
Constitutional Law • Updated 29 August 2026

Affidavit for Writ of Mandamus under Article 226

Updated specimen affidavit for a High Court petition seeking a direction to compel performance of a public, statutory or legally enforceable duty.

Important: Mandamus is not confined only to officers created by statute. Under Article 226, a High Court may in an appropriate case issue a writ in the nature of mandamus to a person or body performing a public duty or bearing a public-law obligation. Purely private disputes ordinarily remain outside this remedy.

Article 226 expressly empowers High Courts to issue directions, orders and writs, including mandamus, for enforcement of fundamental rights and for any other purpose. The remedy is commonly invoked where an authority or body has failed, refused or unlawfully neglected to perform a duty that the petitioner is legally entitled to have performed.

Article 226 High Courts may issue writs in the nature of mandamus to any person or authority in an appropriate case.
Core Requirement A legally enforceable right in the petitioner and a corresponding public, statutory or public-law duty in the respondent.
Alternative Remedy Availability of an effective statutory remedy is an important factor and should be disclosed and addressed.

Sample Affidavit for Writ of Mandamus under Article 226

This specimen is general. Adapt the cause title, jurisdiction, public duty, representations, alternative remedies, annexures and verification to the facts and the Rules of the High Court concerned.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF ______________________________ AT __________________
WRIT JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. ______ OF 20____

____________________________ PETITIONER

VERSUS

____________________________ & ORS. RESPONDENTS

AFFIDAVIT

I, ____________________________, son/daughter/wife of ____________________________, aged about ____ years, resident of ________________________________________________________, do hereby solemnly affirm and state as follows:

1. That I am the petitioner / authorised representative of the petitioner in the accompanying writ petition and am well acquainted with its facts and circumstances. I am therefore competent to swear this affidavit.

2. That the respondent ____________________________ is required under ____________________________ to perform the following public / statutory / legally enforceable duty: ________________________________________________________________________________.

3. That the petitioner possesses a corresponding legal right or legitimate entitlement to seek performance of the aforesaid duty for the reasons set out in the accompanying petition.

4. That the petitioner requested the respondent to perform the duty by representation / application dated ________________, followed by ________________________________________________________________________________.

5. That despite the aforesaid request, the respondent has failed / refused / neglected to act, or has acted contrary to the governing law, thereby giving rise to the present cause of action.

6. That this Hon'ble Court has territorial jurisdiction because the cause of action, wholly or in material part, arose within its territorial jurisdiction and/or the respondent falls within the jurisdiction contemplated by Article 226.

7. That the petitioner has disclosed the existence and status of any statutory appeal, revision, review, representation or other alternative remedy, and the reasons for invoking the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Hon'ble Court are specifically stated in the writ petition.

8. That the relief sought is enforcement of a public / statutory / public-law duty and not adjudication of a purely private contractual dispute.

9. That the accompanying writ petition has been prepared under my instructions. I have read and understood its contents and state that the factual averments are true and correct to my knowledge and/or based on records believed by me to be true.

10. That the annexures filed with the petition are true copies of the documents referred to therein, subject to such certification as may be required by the applicable High Court Rules.

11. That the petition is filed bona fide and without suppression of any material fact.

12. That it is therefore prayed that this Hon'ble Court may issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondent(s) to perform the duty pleaded in the writ petition, within such time and on such terms as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit.

DEPONENT

VERIFICATION

Verified at ________________ on this ____ day of ________________, 20____, that the contents of paragraphs 1 to ____ above are true and correct to my knowledge and/or based on records and information believed by me to be true, and that nothing material has been concealed therefrom.

DEPONENT

Complete attestation, oath, identification and filing formalities according to the applicable High Court Rules.

Article 226: High Court Power to Issue Mandamus

Article 226(1) gives every High Court power, throughout the territories in relation to which it exercises jurisdiction, to issue directions, orders or writs, including writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari, for enforcement of rights under Part III and for any other purpose.

Article 226(2) also recognises jurisdiction where the cause of action, wholly or in part, arises within the territory of the High Court, even though the seat of the Government or authority or residence of the person concerned may be outside those territories.

Official Constitution of India - Legislative Department

Essential Requirements for Mandamus

A mandamus petition should ordinarily identify a clear legal right in the petitioner, a corresponding public or statutory duty in the respondent, and a failure or refusal to perform that duty. The petition should state the source of the duty and explain precisely what action the respondent was required to take.

Where the grievance is administrative inaction, it is generally useful to annex the application or representation, proof of service, reminders, statutory provisions, relevant policy or rules, and any response or order passed by the authority.

Can Mandamus Be Issued Against a Private Body?

Article 226 uses the expression "any person or authority", and Supreme Court jurisprudence recognises that the inquiry is not limited to whether the respondent is formally a statutory authority. The decisive question may be whether the duty sought to be enforced is public in nature or arises from a public-law obligation.

In St. Mary's Education Society v. Rajendra Prasad Bhargava, 2024 INSC 501, the Supreme Court reiterated the distinction between a public duty enforceable through Article 226 and a purely private dispute. A private body's mere existence or regulation does not automatically make every dispute with it amenable to mandamus; the character of the function and duty remains important.

Supreme Court judgment - 2024 INSC 501

When Mandamus Is Ordinarily Not Granted

Mandamus is discretionary and is ordinarily not issued merely to enforce a private contract, to compel an authority to exercise discretion in a particular manner where the law leaves a genuine choice, or where the petitioner has no enforceable legal right. The existence of an effective statutory remedy can also be a significant reason for the High Court to decline immediate writ intervention.

The proper relief may sometimes be a direction to consider and decide a representation in accordance with law rather than a direction to reach a predetermined result. The petition should therefore distinguish between compelling the authority to exercise lawful power and asking the Court to dictate an outcome that the statute leaves to the authority's discretion.

Practical Filing Notes

  • Identify the exact legal source of the public or statutory duty sought to be enforced.
  • State the petitioner's corresponding right or entitlement clearly.
  • Annex representations, applications, reminders and proof of service wherever relevant.
  • Explain the respondent's failure, refusal, unreasonable delay or legally impermissible inaction.
  • Disclose alternative statutory remedies and explain why Article 226 is nevertheless invoked.
  • State territorial jurisdiction under Article 226(2), where necessary.
  • Avoid asking the Court to compel an outcome where the authority lawfully retains discretion; frame the prayer according to the governing statute.
  • Follow the applicable High Court Rules concerning synopsis, list of dates, memo of parties, affidavit, annexures, court fee, attestation and e-filing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can mandamus compel a government department to decide a pending application?

Yes, where the department has a legal duty to consider or decide the application and there has been unlawful or unreasonable inaction, the High Court may in an appropriate case direct consideration and decision in accordance with law.

Can mandamus be issued to force a particular discretionary decision?

Ordinarily the Court compels lawful exercise of the discretion rather than substituting its own decision where the statute genuinely entrusts the choice to the authority, unless the facts justify stronger constitutional intervention.

Is mandamus available against a private organisation?

Potentially, but not merely because the organisation is regulated. The duty sought to be enforced must generally have a public-law character. Purely private contractual or service disputes ordinarily do not become writ matters simply because the respondent is an institution.

Does an alternative remedy always bar a mandamus petition?

No absolute bar applies in every situation, but the existence of an effective statutory remedy is an important discretionary consideration. It should be candidly disclosed and addressed in the petition.

Legal information notice: This is a general drafting specimen. Maintainability depends on the legal nature of the respondent, source of the duty, existence of an enforceable right, territorial jurisdiction, alternative remedies and the Rules of the particular High Court.