O.C.G.A. § 9-14-5: When writ granted.

When upon examination of the petition for a writ of habeas corpus it appears to the judge that the restraint of liberty is illegal, he shall grant the writ, requiring the person restraining the liberty of another or illegally detaining such person in his custody to bring the person before him at a time and place to be specified in the writ for the purpose of an examination into the cause of the detention.