The main legal point established in the judgment is that a writ against a private body should not be entertained when there is an alternative remedy under industrial law, and the powers of the Indian High Courts under Article 226 are subject to limitations.

( 1 ) HEARD Sri K. P. Agarwal learned Counsel for Petitioner. The petitioners are workmen of Pepsico india Holdings Limited which is a purely private company and is not State under Article 12 of the Constitution.

( 2 ) THE grievance of the petitioner is that the company has terminated the services of certain employees and is doing unfair labour practices. In our opinion, the petitioner has an alternative remedy of raising an industrial dispute under the U. P. Industrial Disputes Act, and hence this writ petition should not be entertained as held by the Full Bench of this court in Chandrama Singh v. Managing director 1991 (63) FLR 478, also the writ petition is not maintainable as it is against a purely private body.

( 3 ) LEARNED Counsel for the petitioners has invited our attention to the decision of the supreme Court in Shri Anadi Mukta Sadguru shree Muktajee Vandasji Swami Swarna jayanti Mahotsav Smarak Trust and Others v. V. R. Rudani and others, (1989-II-LLJ-324) (SC), Unni Krishnan J. P. v. State of A. P. , AIR 1993 SC 2178, K. Krishnamacharyulu and others v. Sri Venkateswara Hindu College of engineering and another, AIR 1998 SC 295, etc. and has submitted that a writ lies even against a private body. It is no doubt true that in certain exceptional cases, a writ against a private body has been held to be maintainable, but in our opinion these are only exceptional cases and it does not create a general rule. Ordinarily no writ lies against a private body (except a writ of habeas corpus ). No Doubt article 226 of the Constitution is very widely worded. Article 226 (1) states;" (1) Notwithstanding anything in Article 32 (***) every High Court shall have power, throughout the territories in relation to which it exercises jurisdiction, to issue to any person or authority including in appropriate case, any Government, within those territories directions, orders or writs, including writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari, or any of them, for the enforcement of any of the rights conferred by Part II and for any other purposes. "

( 4 ) IT may be noted that the above provision states that a writ can be issued to "any person or authority" and it further states that a writ can be issued for enforcement of the rights conferred by Part II and "for any other purpose". However although very wide language is used in Article 226, by judicial interpretation a narrower meaning has been given. In our opinion the language of Article 226 cannot be read literally. for example article 226 states that a writ can be issued for any other purpose but this does not mean that a writ can issue for granting a divorce or for deciding criminal trials. The words for any other purpose have to be interpreted to mean that a writ shall ordinarily be issued for the purpose for which writs were traditionally issued by the British Courts on well-established principles.

( 5 ) SIMILARLY it has been stated in Article 226 that a writ can be issued to any person, but once again these words cannot be read literally. A writ can be issued to the persons to whom writs were traditionally issued by British courts on well established principles and not literally to any person whomsoever. Thus, while the language of Article 226 on the face of it is very wide it does not mean that writs can be issued for any purpose whatsoever and to any person whomsoever. Writs will ordinarily be issued to the persons, and for the purpose, for which writs were traditionally issued by the British Courts on well-established principles. No doubt the powers of the Indian high Court under Article 226 are wider than those of the British Courts, as held in Dwarka nath v. I. T. O. , AIR 1966 SC 81, but they are not so wide as to empower the Indian High courts to pass any order whatsoever in writ jurisdiction. There are well settled limitations on such powers.

( 6 ) THE decisions that the learned Counsel for the petitioner cited were cases w