A writ petition is a constitutional remedy filed before the Supreme Court under Article 32, or before a High Court under Article 226, seeking the court's intervention against the State, its instrumentalities, or any authority performing a public function. The five traditional writs — habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, and quo warranto — are the forms in which relief is typically sought, though modern pleadings rarely label themselves by a specific writ and instead plead the required reliefs directly.
**Article 226 vs Article 32.** HC writ jurisdiction under Article 226 is broader: it extends to enforcement of fundamental rights AND any other legal right — "any other purpose" in the constitutional text. Article 32, confined to fundamental rights, is the Supreme Court's own writ jurisdiction; in practice most writ matters go to the HC first because the reach is wider and the forum closer.
**Common grounds.** Violation of a fundamental right; violation of natural justice; ultra vires action by a public authority; mala fides or colourable exercise of power; patent illegality; jurisdictional error. Writ courts are cautious about entering factual disputes that require evidence (those belong at trial) and about matters where an efficacious alternative statutory remedy exists.
**Structure.** Cause title, synopsis, list of dates, facts, statutory framework, grounds, prayer (including interim prayers), verification, affidavit in support, annexures. Court fees are prescribed by the relevant state court-fees schedule.
**Limitation.** Writ jurisdiction has no fixed limitation but is discretionary; the test is reasonableness in the facts and circumstances rather than a fixed period. Courts have, in various cases, treated unexplained delay beyond six months to a year as suspect, but this is a heuristic and not a rule — a delayed petition can be admitted where the delay is satisfactorily explained, and a prompt petition can be refused on other discretionary grounds.