What is the basic purpose of the writ of Mandamus?

Correct answer: To order a public official to perform a legal duty

The correct answer is A: Mandamus directs a public authority or official to perform a legal or public duty that the authority has failed or refused to perform. To solve this, identify the problem as non-performance of a duty, not detention, excess jurisdiction, or an office-holder’s qualification. Mandamus does not normally create a new duty; it compels performance of an existing legal duty when the required conditions are present. Option A is correct because it states this central purpose. Option B describes Habeas Corpus, which protects a person from unlawful detention by requiring production before the court. Option C is associated with Prohibition, which stops a lower court or tribunal from proceeding beyond its jurisdiction. Option D describes Quo Warranto, used to question by what authority a person occupies a public office. A useful memory cue is “Mandamus means command”: the court commands the responsible authority to do a duty required by law. Always connect Mandamus with public duty and action, not with punishment or election administration.