Kanoon Ki Dastak
The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has reaffirmed that territorial jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution is a constitutional requirement that cannot be overridden by procedural rules, while dismissing a writ petition filed against Punjab authorities.
High Court was hearing a plea challenging certain notices issued by the State of Punjab and the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Security, Jalandhar. However, the Court found no cause of action within its territorial jurisdiction and dismissed the petition as not maintainable.
Justice Rahul Bharti, while delivering the judgment, clarified that Article 226(1) expressly limits the writ jurisdiction of a High Court to persons or authorities within its territorial domain, unless compelling jurisdictional facts are pleaded.
The petitioner’s reliance on Rule 2 of the Writ Proceedings Rules, 1997 to avoid stating such facts was rejected outright.
“The Constitution cannot be made subservient to procedural rules,” the Court observed, adding that a High Court cannot assume jurisdiction over matters wholly connected to another state unless justified through pleaded facts.
While dismissing the petition, the Court noted that this order will not affect the maintainability of plea, another petition filed by the same petitioner regarding a related FIR registered in Punjab.