Writ of habeas corpus
High Courts exercising the power under Article 226 of the Constitution can issue writs of Habeas Corpus. It is a writ in the nature of an order calling upon the person who has detained another to produce the latter before the court, in order to let the court know on what ground he has been confined and to set him free if there is no legal jurisdiction for the imprisonment. An application for Habeas Corpus can be filed by the near and dear of the individual detained or even by a stranger or a social worker.
Under Article 226, a petition for Habeas Corpus would lie not only when a person is detained by the state, but also when he is detained by another private individual. The custody of a minor child can be obtained by a rightful parent under a Habeas Corpus proceeding. Similarly, Habeas Corpus is available to a husband to regain the custody of his wife.
Where it is shown that the petitioner was arrested and imprisoned with mischievous and malicious intent, the court shall have the power to compensate the petitioner by awarding suitable monetary compensation or exemplary costs.
To decline to give effect to an order of release passed on an application for Habeas Corpus amounts to contempt of court punishable by imprisonment and attachment.