Grant of mandatory injunction
The Supreme Court (SC), in Estate Officer, Haryana Urban Development Authority and Ors. v Nirmala Devi [2025 INSC 843] states that a grant of mandatory injunction under Section 39 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 (SRA) is discretionary, and can be granted only upon the breach of an enforceable legal obligation.
The term obligation is a term of wider meaning
The definition of the term obligation in Section 2 of the SRA is so wide that any breach of legal obligation may give a cause to the affected party. The word ‘obligation’ in Section 2 of the SRA should be interpreted in a way which may serve the cause of the society. Every duty enforceable at law is obligation.
The judgement as above states that a mandatory injunction cannot be granted unless there exists a legal right and there is a breach of that legal right.
The conditions for granting a mandatory injunction
The SC, in page 66 of the above judgement, summarized the conditions for granting a mandatory injunction as developed over time by a catena of decisions of the Supreme Court as follows:
- i) Obligation: There must be a clear obligation on the part of the defendant.
- ii) Breach: A breach of that obligation must have occurred or be reasonably apprehended
iii) Necessity: It must be necessary to compel the performance of specific acts to prevent or rectify the breach.
- iv) Enforceability: The court must be able to enforce the performance of those acts.
- v) Balance of Convenience: The balance of convenience must be in favour of the party seeking the injunction.
- vi) Irreparable Injury: The injury or damage caused by the breach must be irreparable or not adequately compensable in monetary terms.
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