MAHARASHTRA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, MUMBAI

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

SEMESTER VI

ABSTRACT

Topic: Judicial Review of Administrative Actions through Writ of Mandamus

Submitted To: Prof. Milind Gawai

Submitted By: Sakshi Salunke

Enrolment No.: 2017043

B.A LL. B(Hons.) – 2020

INTRODUCTION

The paper of Administrative law and judicial review of administrative action is one of the
important subjects in modern times. This paper deals with the broader aspects of administrative
law and various methods of judicial control through writs. Administrative law has an enormous
social function to perform and it is the body of the reasonable limitations and affirmative action
which are developed by the legislature and the courts to maintain and sustain the rule of law.
A rigid, independent and impartial judiciary is a sine qua non of any system of government,
excluding dictatorship. In every country, the judiciary plays the key role of interpreting and
applying the law and deciding the disputes between one citizen and the other and between a
citizen and state. Where there is a written constitution the courts perform the additional
mechanism of safeguarding the supremacy of the constitution by interpreting within the limits
of the constitution. Judicial review is a great institution and is a fundamental arch of the system
of checks and balance without which a democracy cannot function appropriately. Judicial
review is fundamentally an aspect of judicial power of the state which is exercised by the courts
to determine the validity of the rule of law or an action of any agency of the state. The courts
through writs of Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Certiorari, Prohibition and Quo Warranto control
the administrative actions. The important source of Administrative law is the statutes, statutory
instruments, precedents and the customs. The paper will discuss the doctrine of ultra vires and
remedies of judicial review and the power of judicial control has become an important area of
administrative law because the courts have proved more effective and useful than the legislative
or the administrative powers specifically through writ of mandamus and how the writ of
mandamus originated.

RESEARCH QUESTION

➢ How have the courts used the writ of Mandamus for judicial review of administrative
actions?
➢ What are the advantages and discrepancies while using the writ of Mandamus for
judicial review of administrative actions?
METHODOLOGY

The researcher will be undergoing extensive research based on the literature available through
the books, newspapers, journals and magazines and to some extent online sources. Facts and
claims are supported with references wherever required.

SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH

The research is restrained to the judicial review of administrative action through the writ of
Mandamus. It does not discuss the uses of other writs and is limited to merely administrative
action and shall not discuss the origin and development of the writ system in India and explains
by discussing the use of the writ of Mandamus and its scope.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

➢ https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1825&context=flr