An Injunction is a judicial process, whereby a person is required to do or abstrain from doing a particular act or a wrongful act. The grant of injuction aims to restore the violated rights of the party. It follows the principles of natural justice, equity and good conscience.
Illustration– [i] Suppose A is constructing a wall at B’s land . At the suit of B by providing him preventive relief can be prohibited to do so because A is not legally liable to construct the wall at B’s land.
Case Law-
Shiv Kumar V Municipality Corporation Of Delhi (1993) 3 SCC 161
A court possesses the power to grant interim relief during the pendency of the suit. The primary purpose being the prevention of property in dispute till legal rights and conflicting claims of the parties before the court are adjudicated.
Injuctions are divided into two kinds .They are-
1. Temporary or Interim Injuction and
2. Permanent or Ad-Interim Injuction
Temporary injunctions
Under Chapter VII Section 37 of Specific Relief Act,1963 –[i] (1) Temporary injunctions are such as are to continue until a specific time, or until the further order of the court, and they maybe granted at any stage of a suit, and are regulated by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908).
A temporary or interim injuction restrains a party temporarily from doing the specified act and can be granted only until the disposal of the suit or until the further orders of the court.
Section 94(c) and (e) of THE CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE, 1908 contains the provisions under which court may in order to prevent the end of justice from being defeated grant a temporary injuction . It is regulated under the provision of Order 39 of and may be granted at any stage of the suit.
[ii]The court shall while granting a temporary injuctionto restrain such act or to make such other order for the purpose of staying and preventing the wasting, damaging, alteration, sale, removal of disposition of property or dispossession of the plaintiff or otherwise causing injury to the plaintiff or otherwise causing injury to plaintiff in relation to any property under disposition in the suit under sub-rule (1) direct the plaintiff to give security or otherwise as the court thinks fit. [Order XXIX, Rule 21(2)].
Temporary injuctions can be granted during the pendency of the suit on the basis of status quo, prima facie case, balance of convenience etc.
Temporary injuction Order 39 Rule 2 can be granted on the term of the prayer for permanent injuction in the suit and not on different terms.
Under what circumstances interim injuction may be granted
- Interim injuction of maintaining status quo against transfer of property, disposal of goods, making construction, effecting recovery of dues, attachment of property , appointment of receiver, against prosecution etc can be granted.
Under what circumstances interim injuction may not be granted
- A relief of injuction may be refused on the ground of delay, laches or acquiescence or where the applicant has not come with clean hands or has suppressed materials facts or where monetary compensation is adequate relief.
[iii]Rule 1 of Order 39 of the Code provides that where in any suit it is proved by affidavit or otherwise—
1. That any property in dispute in a suit is in danger of being wasted, damaged or alienated by any party to the suit, or wrongfully sold in execution of a decree, or
2. That the defendant threatens, or intends to remove or dispose of his property with a view to defrauding his creditors, or
3. That the defendant threatens to dispossess the plaintiff or otherwise cause injury to the plaintiff in relation to any property in dispute, the court may by order grant a temporary injunction to restrain such act, or make such other order for the purpose of staying and preventing the wasting, damaging, alienation, sale, removal or disposition of the property or dispossession of the plaintiff, or otherwise causing injury to the plaintiff in relation to any property in dispute in the suit as the court thinks fit, until the disposal of the suit or until further orders.
Permanent injuction
- A permanent injuction restrains a party for forever from doing the specified act and can be granted only on merits at [iv]the conclusion of the trial after hearing both the parties in the suit. The permanent injuction permanently prohibits a person to do certain actions.
- A permanent injunction (also referred to as perpetual injunction) which is one that’s delivered at the time of the ultimate judgement, and so is more often than not, prevalent for a extended period of your time. during this scenario, the Defendant is perpetually restrained from the commission of an act, or the abstinence from the commission of an act, which might defeat the interests of the Plaintiff.
When can a permanent injunction be granted?
A permanent injunction may be granted:
a. To the plaintiff in a suit to prevent a breach of an obligation existing in his favour, whether implicit or explicit –
- [v]However, in a case where such an obligation arises out of a contract, the court follows the rules as specified by Chapter II of the Act.
- Chapter II, under Section 9 provides that a person may claim relief in respect to a contract, by pleading in his defense, any of the ground available to him under any law relating to contracts.
b. In a case where the plaintiff invades or threatens to invade the the plaintiff’s right to, or enjoyment of, property, the court may grant a permanent injunction where:
1. The defendant is trustee of the property for the plaintiff;
2. [vi]there exists no standard for ascertaining the actual damage caused, or likely to be caused, by the invasion;
- the invasion is such that compensation in money would not afford adequate relief;
- the injunction is necessary to prevent a multiplicity of judicial proceedings.
“The views of the authors are personal“
Reference
[i]http://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/Specific%20Relief%20Act%201963-47.pdf
[ii]http://www.shareyouressays.com/knowledge/what-is-a-temporary-injunction-when-should-a-temporary-injunction-be-issued-in-india/111414
[iii]http://www.shareyouressays.com/knowledge/what-is-a-temporary-injunction-when-should-a-temporary-injunction-be-issued-in-india/111414
[iv]https://books.google.co.in/books?id=D0WDxytZSuoC&redir_esc=y