Law of Injunction

Temporary injunction:

A temporary injunction is an order by which a party to an action is required to do, or refrain from doing, a

particular thing until the suit is disposed of or until further orders of the court. A temporary injunction is interim in
nature, granted on an interlocutory application of the plaintiff.

Cases where granted:

The granting of a temporary injunction is a matter of discretion of the court, the discretion is to be exercised

judicially according to well-settled principles.

Rule 1 of Order XXXIX of the Code provides that where in any suit it is proved by affidavit or otherwise

(a) 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

(b) That the defendant threatens, or intends, to remove or dispose of his property with a view to defrauding his
creditors,

(c) That the defendant threatens to dispossess the plaintiff or otherwise cause injury to the plaintiff in relation to

any property in dispute in the suit, 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.

As said above, the power to grant a temporary injunction is discretionary with the court. That discretion has to be

judicially exercised on certain legal principles. The temporary injunction should not be lightly granted, because it

will be a serious thing if persons in possession were to be restrained from using the property merely because a
suit has been instituted with reference to it. The court has to be satisfied with regard to the following matters:

1. The court will first see that there is a bona fide contention between the parties and then on which side, in the
event of success, will lie the balance of inconvenience if the injunction does not issue.

. The court must be satisfied that the applicant has a prima facie case to go to trial, i.e., there is a probability of

the plaintiff getting the relief asked for by him. It is not necessary that the plaintiff should establish his title to the

property in suit. It is enough for him to show that he has a fair question to raise as to the existence of the right

which he alleges and can satisfy the court that the property in dispute should be preserved in its present actual
condition until such question can be disposed of.
3. The court must be satisfied that there is a likelihood of the plaintiff suffering from an irreparable injury—an
injury which could not be adequately remedied by damages—if the injunction is not granted.

4. Where a permanent injunction cannot be given, generally no temporary injunction is allowed.