Continuing mandamus
Topic: Judiciary: Independence, Structure, Judicial Review and Activism · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Judiciary"
Meaning
A mandamus is a writ, which is a court order telling a public authority to do its duty. In a continuing mandamus, the court does not close the case after one order. It keeps the case open and gives fresh orders from time to time to supervise how a government agency is doing its work. Courts use it when they fear the agency will be slow or will not act fairly unless someone keeps watching. It grew as a tool of judicial activism, which means courts actively using their power to protect rights and make the government answerable.
Example
In Vineet Narain (1997), the Supreme Court kept the case open and supervised the CBI's probe into the hawala case. The case also led to the CVC Act 2003.
Don't confuse with
- Ordinary mandamus: this is a one-time order to do a duty. A continuing mandamus keeps the court involved over a long period.