Habeas Corpus

Subject – Polity

Context – HC pulls up U.P. govt. over hospital’s condition. A patient has been missing since May.

Concept –

It is a Latin term which literally means ‘to have the body of’. Under this the court issues an order to a person who has detained another person, to produce the body of the latter before it. The court then examines the cause and legality of detention.
This writ is a bulwark of individual liberty against arbitrary detention.
The writ of habeas corpus can be issued against both public authorities as well as private individuals.
The writ, on the other hand, is not issued where the:
- detention is lawful,
- the proceeding is for contempt of a legislature or a court,
- detention is by a competent court, and
- detention is outside the jurisdiction of the court.