Writ under Article 226?

Hello,

1. Article 226 of the Indian Constitutions talks about the power of High Courts to issue certain writs for the enforcement of fundamental rights or for any other purpose like statutory authority violating their statutory duties.

2. Article 226 is to protect fundamental rights of an individual. The state government does not have a fundamental right like an individual, and therefore they cannot complain of fundamental rights being violated under Article 226 for issuance of a writ.

3. However, the Constitution provides a provision to protect the legal rights of a state under Article 131 under which Supreme Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction to solve the dispute between the States of India or between State Government and Central government.

4. Article 131 talks about State disputes but the word ‘state’ here has a different meaning then that of Article 12. Therefore, the state government cannot file a writ petition against central government under Article 226, however, they can file a case under Article 131.