A writ petition can be filed directly either in the Supreme Court (under Article 32 of the Constitution) or in the high court (under Article 226 of the Constitution).
In the Supreme Court, the writ petition can be filed only for the enforcement of the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution and for no other rights.
However, in the high court, the writ petition can be filed not only for the enforcement of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution, but also for any other purpose.
Wherever applicable, a writ petition can be filed directly in the high court, without there being any need to first approach the lower court.
Depending on the type of your right affected and the organisation where you are working (for service related issues), you may have to approach the civil court, or the service tribunal (such as Central Administrative Tribunal) or the high court. Please ascertain from your lawyer where your remedy lies (it appears that your lawyer has already advised you to approach the high court by filing a writ petition).
As regards court fees to be paid, the writ petition may in fact be cheaper than approaching the civil court. As regards fees to be paid to your lawyer, of course, that is a matter between the two of you. So, the writ petition may not generally be costlier than approaching the lower court. But, it depends.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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