Writ Of Mandamus Can't Be Issued For Non-Registration Of Criminal Case, BNSS Provides Efficacious Remedy: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that a writ of mandamus cannot be issued in favour of a petitioner who is unable to show a legal right in himself and a corresponding public duty cast by law upon the authority. It held that where the grievance is in substance one of non-registration of a criminal case, the petitioner has an efficacious statutory remedy under Chapter XIII of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and must be relegated to it.The bench of Justice J.J. Munir and Justice Indrajeet Shukla held,“Mandamus is the most valuable and essential remedy in the Administrative Justice resorted to supply want of some appropriate ordinary remedy. The functions of the writ court is to compel the performance of public duty, for which, the person approaching the writ court, has a clear, specific and unequivocal, constitutional or statutory or legal right to the relief sought and a failure on the part of those who are bound to perform certain duties and functions, as laid down by the legislature or directions issued for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of an enactment or of any delegated or subordinate legislation. There must be a legal right and corresponding legal duty.”Petitioner claimed that three cheques belonging to his firm, M/S Ananta Enterprises, had been lost, and that a complaint lodged at Police Station Colonelganj, Prayagraj on November 5th 2025 brought no result. On December 30th 2025, his bank informed him by SMS that one of them, for Rs. 80,000/-, had been processed for encashment in favour of the Executive Engineer of the electricity department towards electricity dues. Petitioner approached the Executive Engineer the next day, and was told the cheque had been deposited against the consumer account of Fusion Wellness Centre, belonging to one Urmila Gupta.It was submitted that the cheques had never been issued in Urmila Gupta's favour, that their theft and fraudulent use made out offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. It was alleged that officials of the electricity department were acting in collusion with her. When no action followed, the petitioner lodged complaints on the Chief Minister's portal and approached the High Court under Article 226 for a writ or order or direction that the complaints be decided within a stipulated time.The Court noted that when counsel for the petitioner was confronted with the law governing the issue of a writ of mandamus, he could show no statutory or legal right of the petitioner which was infringed, nor explain how the respondents were obliged to redress the complaint on the administrative side.“A prerogative writ, like, a Mandamus cannot be demanded ex debito justiatiae, but it can be issued by the court in its discretion, for which, it must be shown that, there is a non discretionary legal duty upon the authority against whom, the relief is sought and that the person approaching the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, has to prove that he has a legal right to be enforced against the authority, for the failure of performance of a legal or statutory duty, by the authority against whom, the relief is sought.”Summarising ten principles governing the writ, the Court held that the duty enforced must be of a public character emanating from the Constitution, a statute, statutory rules or the common law. It held that Mandamus is not intended to supplant the ordinary remedies available before a civil court, and such a writ petition is not maintainable for purely private disputes or for private rights unconnected with a public duty.On the complaint itself, the Court held that the petitioner was in substance aggrieved by the non-registration of a criminal case, for which the statute already provided a remedy.“The fabric of complaint submitted by petitioner on Chief Minister's portal clearly exhibits that he is aggrieved by non-registration of criminal case. The petitioner has got efficacious remedy of invoking statutory safeguards for redressal of his grievance for registration of criminal case particularly statutory scheme framed under Chapter XIII of B.N.S.S., 2023 (Information to the police and their powers to investigate) which includes even default remedy of refusal on the part of an officer in-charge of a police station to record the information and investigate.”The petitioner, it observed, had offered no answer to how that scheme was not efficacious.Accordingly, the writ petition was dismissed leaving the petitioner at liberty to avail his statutory remedies, including the one under Chapter XIII of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.Case Title: Chandan Kumar v. State of U.P. and 4 others 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 456Case Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 456Counsel for Petitioner :- Amit Kumar PandeyCounsel for Respondent :- C.S.C., Narendra Kumar TiwariClick Here To Read/Download Order

Writ Of Mandamus Can't Be Issued For Non-Registration Of Criminal Case, BNSS Provides Efficacious Remedy: Allahabad High Court

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Writ Of Mandamus Can't Be Issued For Non-Registration Of Criminal Case, BNSS Provides Efficacious Remedy: Allahabad High Court

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