INJUNCTIONS

Order 39 of the CPC deals with the injunctions. Injunction is an equitable (i.e.
discretionary, and not a right) remedy.
Injunction can be of either of the two natures
a) Mandatory - which mandates somebody to do something
b) Prohibitory which asks someone to not to do something
An injunction order is an interlocutory order(i.e an order passed during the pendency
of the suit) , so, it can not be filled independently. A suit has to be filled, after which
an injunction may be filled during the pendency of the suit.
Types:
a Temporary: Restrains a party temporarily from doing the specified act and
can be granted only till the disposal of the suit till or further orders of the
court. (Order 39)
b Permanent: Restrains a party forever from doing the specified act and can be
granted only on merits at the conclusion of the trial after hearing both parties
to the suit. (Sections 38- 42 of Specific Relief Act)

Rule 1:
Rule 1 of Order 39, tells the grounds on which temporary injunction can be granted.
Temporary injunction can be granted in the following:
a Property in dispute in danger of being wasted, damaged, alienated or
wrongfully sold
b that the defendant threatens or intend to remove or dispose of his property
with a view to defrauding his creditor In a debtor creditor relationship, when
the debtor might want to sell off all his property, but then it will not be
possible for him to pay to the creditor.
c Defendant threatens to dispossess the plaintiff or cause any injury to them
relating to the property
Or, Interest of justice so requires
Both plaintiff and the defendant can apply for interim injunction against the other and
can be granted against only a party to the suit, no third person or officer etc.

Criteria for granting of injunction:

Its at the discretion of the court. Court must be satisfied about the following to pass a
temporary injunction:
a Prima Facie Case: Applicant must make out a prima facie case in support of
the right claimed by him. The expression "prima facie" means at the first sight
or on the first appearance or on the face of it, or so far as it can be judged from
the first disclosure. Prima facie case means that evidence brought on record
would reasonably allow the conclusion that the plaintiff seeks. The prima facie
case would mean that a case which has proceeded upon sufficient proof to that
stage where it would support finding if evidence to contrary is disregarded.
b Irreparable injury: Applicant will suffer from irreparable injury if the
injunction is not granted
c Balance of (in) convenience: Balance of convenience must be in favor of the
applicant; the hardship caused to the applicant by refusing the injunction will
be greater than that which is caused to the opposite party by granting it.
d Other factors: Injunction may be refused on the grounds of delay, laches or
acquiescence or if the applicant has not come with clean hands or where
monetary compensation is adequate.

In the case of B.S. Sharma v Food Corporation Of India And Others 2004 MPLJ (4)
126, the court said that all the criteria that are above mentioned for the granting of
injunction must co-exist.

Rule 2:
An important thing that must be noted is that, what one asks in the temporary
injunction application, must also be asked permanently in the prayer clause of the suit.
They are issued during pendency of proceedings to maintain status quo during the
proceedings.

For example, the Indian and the UK Government enter into a contract, where the UK
Government agrees to sell the Koh-i-noor diamond to the Indian Government, but
later on they deny performing the contract and decided to change the structure of the
diamond. The Indian government files a suit for the specific performance and also a
filed and injunction application, requesting the court to stop the UK Government from
changing the structure. The injunction application will essentially be of the nature
which is in consonance with the final prayer of the suit.

Ad-interim applications:- Interim within interim applications are called ad-interim

applications. In most cases these are ex-parte decisions. Eg:- The municipality
authority is just about to demolish As house. A gets injunction order to stop the
demolition. In such case when there is no time for service of plaint, an injunction
might be granted on that moment itself.

Rule 3:
Ex parte Injunction:
Requires the plaintiff to issue a notice to the opposite party before the injunction is
granted. Court has the power to grant an ex parte injunction without issuing a notice.
Notice is given to the opposite party by the court before granting an injunction. As
long as injunction is not defeated by the delay, serving a notice to the other party is
important.

a Interim orders have no precedential value

b Res Judicata applies to different stages of the same suit; hence if an interim
injunction is once granted/ refused, the order will operate throughout the
proceeding.
c When a court grants interim injunction, which results in injustice to the
opposite party, it is not only the right, but also the duty of the court at the time
of passing the final order to undo the injustice and restore the status quo and at
least put him back in the same condition as he was at the starting of the suit.

An order granting/ refusing to grant injunction is subject to appeal, even if it is ex

parte.

Prem Chand vs Manak Chand And Ors. AIR 1997 Raj 198 - An injunction is a
judicial process whereby a party is required to do, or to refrain from doing any
particular act. It is in the nature of a preventive relief granted to a litigant quia timet,
i.e. because he fears future possible injury. A temporary injunction is of two types one
granted without finally disposing of the application for temporary injunction to
operate immediately till the disposal of the said application and the other granted
while finally disposing of the main application generally till the disposal of the suit.
While former is generally classed as ad interim injunction, the latter is generally
called temporary injunction. The Court has no jurisdiction to grant by way of interim
relief what could never be granted in the main suit itself. Thus an interim injunction
granted during the pendency of a suit should not be of greater scope than what could
be granted in the suit. Plaintiff who seeks temporary injunction should not only show
the prim facie case and balance of convenience but also irreparable injury and also
that the case falls within he exceptional category of cases wherein the Courts should
intervene immediately in granting relief which may in fact, cover the entire relief that
should have been granted in the suit itself.

Inherent power to grant Injunction:

Other provisions under which injunctions can be granted are Sec 94 ----> Sec 151
SECTION 94(c) and RULE 2-A:
Breach of Injunction:
Section 94 provides for supplemental proceedings. It may direct the defendant to
furnish security and for failure thereof, to attach any of his properties, and also grant
temporary injunction and in case of disobedience thereof, the person guilty can be
sent to civil prison and his properties may be attached and sold

In case the suit is not regarding the property or contracts, Order 39 does not cover
that, the court in those matters may exercise of inherent powers under Section 94 and
Section 151 can grant interim injunction. Inherent powers can not be used as long as
CPC specifically covers it. The section does not confer any powers, but only indicates
that there is a power to make such orders as may be necessary for achieving the ends
of justice, and also to prevent an abuse of the process of the court. The court is not
powerless to grant relief when the ends of justice and equity so demand, because the
powers vested in the court are of a wide scope and ambit. There are two major
objectives the court must take into consideration while exercising inherent powers
recognized under S. 151. Firstly, the powers are to be exercised only for the ends of
justice and secondly, to prevent abuse of process of the court.

Asmita Singh