A writ of mandamus is a judicial remedy in the English and American common law system consisting of a court order that commands a government official or entity to perform an act it is legally required to perform as part of its official duties, or to refrain from performing an act the law forbids it from doing. Writs of mandamus are usually used in situations where a government official has failed to act as legally required or has taken a legally prohibited action. They cannot be issued to compel an authority to do something against the law. For example, it cannot be used to force a lower court to take a specific action on applications that have been made, but if the court refuses to rule one way or the other, then a mandamus can be used to order the court to rule on the applications.

परमादेश एक न्यायिक उपचार है। आंग्लदेश में परमादेश न्यायालय के क्वींस बेंच डिवीजन द्वारा किसी अधिकारी, निगम अथवा नीचे की अदालतों के नाम जारी किया जाता है। इसमें इस बात की स्पष्ट आज्ञा होती है कि "प्रादेश में निर्दिष्ट कार्य का यथोचित संपादन किया जाए क्योंकि वही उसका नियतकर्म अथवा कर्तव्य है।" 'mandamus' का अर्थ है "हमारा आदेश है।"