If a clerk of court simply refuses to issue a habeas corpus writ after it's been allowed, or an officer just ignores it, is there any actual penalty for that, or is it treated as a minor administrative lapse?

Who can be liable

The section covers a clerk of a court who refuses to issue the writ after allowance thereof and demand therefor, and also a person to whom a writ is directed, who neglects or refuses to obey or make return of the same, or who makes false return thereof. Each of these is a separate way of violating the section, so a clerk's outright refusal to issue the writ, an officer's refusal to comply with one already issued, and a false return are each independently punishable, not merely variations of a single offense.

A separate violation — denying a copy of the commitment order

Someone who, on demand by or on behalf of the prisoner, refuses to deliver a true copy of the warrant or order of commitment within six hours of the demand is likewise covered by the same penalty provision. This obligation exists independently of whether the writ itself was ever refused or disobeyed, so a custodian can violate this section purely by withholding the commitment paperwork, even where the writ was issued and otherwise honored.

The monetary penalty

The offender must forfeit to the party aggrieved the sum of one thousand pesos, to be recovered in a proper action — a direct claim payable to the wronged party, not simply a fine to the government. The aggrieved party still has to bring a proper action to actually recover that sum; it is not automatically assessed or paid out by the court that issued the writ.

Plus contempt exposure

Beyond the forfeiture, the offender may also be punished by the court or judge as for contempt — a second, separate consequence layered on top of the monetary penalty. The two remedies are not alternatives; a court may impose contempt sanctions in addition to, not instead of, the one-thousand-peso forfeiture owed to the aggrieved party. Contempt exposure gives the court its own independent tool to enforce compliance with the writ, separate from whatever the aggrieved party ultimately recovers through the forfeiture action.

Related provisions

• Rule 102, Section 16 — Penalty for refusing to issue writ, or for disobeying the same
• Rule 102, Section 15 — When prisoner discharged if no appeal
• Rule 102, Section 17 — Person discharged not to be again imprisoned