The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court recently dismissed a writ petition filed against the State of Punjab and the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Jalandhar, due to lack of territorial jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution. The petitioner sought relief against notices issued by Punjab authorities but failed to establish that the cause of action arose within the territorial jurisdiction of the J&K & Ladakh High Court.

Justice Rahul Bharti, presiding over the bench, emphasized that jurisdictional pleading is a fundamental requirement when invoking a High Court’s writ powers, especially against authorities located outside its territorial domain. The court rejected the petitioner’s argument that the Writ Proceedings Rules, 1997, did not explicitly mandate the pleading of territorial jurisdiction, stating that such procedural rules cannot override the constitutional framework of Article 226(1), which confines a High Court’s writ powers to its territorial jurisdiction.

The court clarified that the dismissal of this petition would not prejudice the petitioner’s rights in separate criminal writ proceedings concerning an FIR registered in Jalandhar, Punjab, which involves different legal grounds.

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