The Writ of Quo Warranto

In one line

Quo warranto asks a man holding a public office one question: by what authority do you hold it?

In the wording a student can write in an exam: quo warranto, meaning by what authority, is a writ calling upon the holder of a public office to show the court under what authority he holds it, and where the holder is found not to be entitled the court declares the office vacant and restrains him from acting; the office must be public, of a substantive character, and created by statute or by the Constitution.

Why the law has this at all

Because an office held without title is a continuing wrong to the public, and the ordinary law offers no way to raise it. A private person suffers no special injury when an unqualified man is appointed a Reader in English, so no ordinary suit lies. Quo warranto exists because the public has an interest in public offices being lawfully filled.

The conditions

The office must be public. Created by the Constitution or by a statute, and concerned with the affairs of the public. An office in a private company or a private club is outside the writ.

It must be substantive. A permanent office, independent in character, not merely the function of an agent or a servant who holds at the pleasure of another.

The holder must be in possession of it. The writ does not lie in respect of an appointment that has not been made or has already ended.

The appointment must be contrary to law. Want of the prescribed qualification, a defect in the constitution of the appointing body, or a bar in the statute.

Who may apply

Anybody. This is the one writ where the standing rule is at its widest, because the wrong is to the public and the applicant need not show a personal injury or an interest in the office. He must, however, be acting bona fide and not from a private grudge, and the court has a discretion to refuse a stale or motivated petition.

The limit: the court does not sit in appeal on merit

University of Mysore v. C.D. Govinda Rao, AIR 1965 SC 491.

Facts. Mysore University advertised posts of Professor and Reader, prescribing for a Reader a first or high second class Master's degree, a research degree of doctorate standard or published work of a high standard, and five years of post-graduate teaching. A Board of Appointment selected a candidate as Reader in English. An unsuccessful candidate sought quo warranto calling upon him to show by what authority he held the post, and a mandamus.

Held. The writ calls on the holder of a public office to show the court by what authority he holds it, and its object is to prevent a person from holding an office he is not legally entitled to. The court examines whether the office is public and of a substantive character, created by statute or by the Constitution, and whether the holder was appointed in accordance with the law. But where an expert Board has assessed the fitness of a candidate against the prescribed qualifications, the High Court under Article 226 will not sit in appeal on that assessment.