Which of the following writs or orders issued by a High Court or the Supreme Court is primarily used to quash an order or decision passed by a lower authority or tribunal?

Introduction / Context:
The Constitution of India empowers High Courts and the Supreme Court to issue various writs to protect fundamental rights and to ensure that public authorities act within the bounds of law. These writs include Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari and Quo Warranto. Each writ has a specific purpose. This question asks which writ is used to quash an order or decision of a lower authority or tribunal, thereby testing your understanding of the distinct functions of these constitutional remedies.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The options list Mandamus, Certiorari, Habeas Corpus, Quo Warranto and Prohibition.
- The question focuses on quashing an order of a lower authority or tribunal.
- We assume familiarity with basic definitions of each writ from standard polity textbooks.
- The emphasis is on the primary purpose of the writ, not on secondary or overlapping aspects.

Concept / Approach:
Certiorari is the writ through which a higher court calls for the records of a case from a lower court or tribunal and, if it finds that the order was passed without jurisdiction or in violation of principles of natural justice or law, quashes that order. It is both corrective and supervisory in nature. Mandamus commands a public authority to perform a duty, Habeas Corpus secures release from unlawful detention, Quo Warranto questions the legal authority of a person to hold an office and Prohibition restrains a lower court or tribunal from continuing proceedings beyond its jurisdiction. Therefore, the writ specifically associated with quashing an already passed order is Certiorari.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall the standard definitions of the five major writs in Indian constitutional law.Step 2: Focus on which writ involves the higher court examining the legality of an order and then quashing it if it is found defective.Step 3: Recognise that Certiorari is issued when a lower court or tribunal has exceeded jurisdiction, violated natural justice or committed an apparent error of law.Step 4: Compare this with Prohibition, which stops proceedings before a final order is passed, and with Mandamus, which commands performance of duty.Step 5: Conclude that Certiorari, not the other writs, is the proper constitutional remedy for quashing an order or decision.

Verification / Alternative check:
An alternative way to confirm is to remember that Prohibition and Certiorari are sometimes called sister writs. Prohibition operates in a preventive manner, stopping a lower body from exceeding its jurisdiction, whereas Certiorari operates in a curative manner, quashing an order already passed. Constitutional law texts and judicial decisions clearly maintain this distinction and attribute the quashing function primarily to Certiorari. This repeated explanation in learning materials supports the choice of option B.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Mandamus (option A) is issued to command a public authority to perform a duty that it has failed to fulfil, not to quash an order. Habeas Corpus (option C) is concerned with unlawful detention and directs that a detained person be produced before the court; it does not focus on quashing administrative or quasi judicial orders. Quo Warranto (option D) questions by what authority a person occupies a public office and can lead to that person being removed, but it is about office holding rather than quashing an order in a case. Prohibition (option E) prevents a subordinate court or tribunal from continuing proceedings outside its jurisdiction at an earlier stage, but the question specifically mentions quashing an existing order, which is the domain of Certiorari.

Common Pitfalls:
Students often confuse Prohibition and Certiorari because both involve the supervision of lower courts or tribunals by higher courts. The key difference is timing: Prohibition acts before the final order, while Certiorari acts after, by quashing that order. Another pitfall is to select Mandamus simply because it is a widely known writ, without carefully matching its function to the wording of the question. Always map the exact remedy described in the question to the precise writ definition.

Final Answer:
Certiorari is the writ used by a High Court or the Supreme Court to quash an order or decision passed by a lower authority or tribunal when it is found to be without jurisdiction or otherwise illegal.