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Ker HC | No writ of mandamus lie against public authority for performance of an act unless enjoined by law, Govt. order or precedent

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Kerala High Court

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Kerala High Court: T.V. Anilkumar, J. dismissed the writ petition with all interlocutory applications declared closed.

In the present case, the petitioner filed a writ petition requesting the Court to issue a Writ of Mandamus against the respondent authority to ban the respondent broadcasting from telecasting the TV serial “Koodathai: The Game of Death”. The serial fictionalised the incidents relating to the commission of murder of six people at ‘Koodathai’ in Kozhikode, in which the petitioner is a key eye-witness.

Further, the case had yet not come to a conclusion. Therefore, the petitioner mainly contended that in order to prevent any prejudice by the other witnesses and fairness of the trial, the ban is a must.

The Court while dismissing the Writ Petition held that:

  1. The petitioner had no locus standi to file the petition;
  2. He himself on numerous occasions has appeared on news channels narrating the incident.
  3. The Writ of Mandamus can only be issued against a public authority if the same is required under any law, government order, or has been established by way of a precedent, which in the present case could not be cogently shown.

[Mohemmed Bava v. State of Kerala, 2020 SCC OnLine Ker 3136, decided on 07-08-2020]

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