The Supreme Court has ruled that the doctrine of forum non conveniens cannot be invoked to strip a High Court of its constitutional jurisdiction under Article 226, reinforcing the writ powers that state-level courts exercise over executive and administrative action.
Forum non conveniens is a common-law principle allowing courts to decline cases better suited to another forum. The top court held that this doctrine cannot be deployed as a shield to deny litigants access to High Court writ remedies guaranteed by the Constitution.
Article 226 empowers High Courts to issue directions, orders or writs for enforcement of fundamental rights and for any other purpose. That jurisdiction is considered a cornerstone of India’s administrative law framework, enabling swift judicial review of government decisions.
The ruling resolves tension between procedural convenience arguments advanced by respondents and the constitutional mandate that High Courts remain accessible for public law remedies. Litigants had faced attempts to redirect or block writ petitions on forum-related grounds.
Legal commentators said the decision affirms that constitutional remedies cannot be diluted through imported common-law doctrines not contemplated as limitations on Article 226. State governments and public authorities may find it harder to resist writ jurisdiction by arguing that another court is more appropriate.
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Sources:
https://supremetoday.ai/