Temporary Injunction: Grounds on which Temporary Injunction can be granted

Q  What to you mean by temporary injunction? (2018, 4 marks)

Q  What is temporary injunction? When and in what matters temporary injunctions can be granted? (2019, 20 marks)

Injunction: 

An injunction is a court order whereby a party is required to do, or refrain from doing, any act in the interest of justice. This can be a remedy or a relief in the form of an order which prohibits one form doing something or asks to continue to do something.

Temporary Injunction

A temporary or interim injunction restrains a party temporarily from doing the specified act and can be granted only until the disposal of the suit or until the further order of the court. It is regulated under the provisions of Order 39 of CPC and may be granted at any stage of the suit.

Grounds on which Temporary Injunction can be granted

Order 39 Rule 1 of the CPC provides that Temporary Injunction may be granted by court under the following circumstances:

1. Property in dispute is in danger of being wasted, damaged or alienated by any party to the suit, or wrongfully sold in execution of decree.

2. The defendant threatens or intends to remove or dispose off his property with a view to defraud creditors.

3. The defendant threatens to dispossess the plaintiff or otherwise cause injury to the plaintiff in relation to the property in dispute

4. The defendant is about to commit breach of peace or contract or otherwise (order 39 rule 2).

5. where the court is of opinion that interest of justice, so required.

Conditions for granting Temporary Injunction:

Injunction is discretionary remedy and thus, before granting of the temporary injunction, the following conditions are required to be satisfied:

1. Prima Facie Case is in the favour of the plaintiff and against the defendant.

2. Irreparable injury is likely to be caused to the plaintiff, which cannot be compensated for in terms of money.

3. Balance of convenience is in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant.

4. There is a bona fide dispute raised by the applicant and there is a probability of the applicant being entitled to the relief claimed by him.

Thus, the burden is on the plaintiff praying for the relief. Mere proof of one of the above conditions does not entitle a person to an order of temporary Injunction.

Case reference: Dalpat Kumar vs Prahlad Singh and Ors. the Apex Court, while considering the question of balance of convenience observed that the court while exercising discretion in granting or refusing injunction should exercise sound judicial discretion and should attempt to weigh substantial mischief or injury likely to be caused to the parties, and in the case of refusal of injunction should compare it with that which is likely to be caused to the opposite party, if the injunction is granted.