Important Legal Definitions
Explore legal terms, clear definitions and practical examples.
Habeas Corpus
Prerogative Writs & Extraordinary Remedies
Definition
"To have the body." A prerogative constitutional writ directing the State or a private individual who is detaining a person to physically produce that person before the High Court or Supreme Court to determine whether the detention has lawful authority.
Example
In Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration, the Supreme Court entertained a Habeas Corpus letter petition from an inmate to protect a fellow prisoner being physically tortured by jail wardens in Tihar Jail, expanding the writ to protect prisoners' bodily integrity.