What is an Injunction? A Complete Guide

An injunction is a legalised remedy that is granted by a court of law in order to prevent a party from doing a wrongful or continuing a wrongful act to a case that has already begun. In case a party could not comply with the injunction that is granted by the court, then contempt of court or criminal or civil penalties can be levied on the party by the court of law.

Invoking an Injunction

An injunction can not be invoked until and unless there is a possibility of an injury that can not be rectified. No applications for injunction will be facilitated by the Indian Legal System in any other cases. An irreparable injury or an unrectifiable injury is when it has been proved that the harm is impossible to amend the harm in any other form that has been inflicted on the applicant.

Regulating Law for an Injunction

The law of injunctions is clearly covered in detail under various Relief Acts. The law of injunctions is applied and implemented according to the Civil Procedure Code. To be more precise, the laws applying or relating to this provision include Section 94 and Section 151 of the Civil Procedure Code.

Requirements of an Application for an Injunction

An Applicant is free to furnish the application for an Injunction in the following cases:

• If a petitioner has a prima-facie case that is strong and has some chances of succeeding.
• The balance of either inconvenience or convenience is in favour of the petitioner.
• If an injunction either permanent or temporary, is not granted to the petitioner, then the petitioner would have to face irreparable damage.

Different Types of Injunction

The below mentioned items are the different types of injunctions that can be issued:

1. Preliminary Injunction: It is also referred to as an ad-interim Injunction. It is assigned before a trial to the plaintiff in the situation. It is helpful in preserving the subject matter in its pre-existing condition in order to avoid dissolution of the rights of the plaintiff and hence furnishes the possibility of immediate relief.
2. Preventive Injunction: A preventive Injunction is a formal judgement that drives an individual to restrain from performing any act that is either prohibitive or negative. This injunction aims at avoiding a threatened injury and preserving the status quo.
3. Mandatory Injunction: It is considered to be the most stern and rigorous injunction of all. It tells the defendant to do an act. For instance, if a court has to order the removal of a structure or a building because of its misplaced construction, then it will do it through the description of a Mandatory injunction.
4. Temporary Restraining Order: As the name suggests, it issues a restraining order that is valid till its time of closure. This is granted by the court in order to preserve the status-quo of the matter of dispute or controversy till the hearing of an application for a temporary injunction. It also aims at preventing any type of irreparable or unnecessary injury.
5. Permanent Injunction: While making the final judgement, a permanent injunction is issued to the applicant in order to provide him final relief. If the conditions that produced the injunction are permanent, then the injunction will also be permanent.

Contempt of Court For Noncompliance

The provisions of an injunction need to be compiled with the parties. If the parties fail to comply with these provisions, then the defendant will have to be punished for Contempt of Court when the necessary trial is performed. In such a case, the defaulter will be forced to remit the specified penal charges and may have to go to prison. The amount and manner of punishment will be specified on the basis of the type of default.

Prohibitory Injunctions

When a prohibitory injunction is granted by the court, then the defendant is prohibited from doing any wrongful acts that might be an infringement of the legal rights of the plaintiff. For instance, Prohibitory injunction prevents a breach of contract or protects confidential information from being disclosed.

Mandatory Injunctions

A mandatory injunctions prohibits the continuation of a wrongful act by the defendant that was already started at the time of issuing the injunction. The main purpose of issuing a mandatory injunction is to restore the rightful order of the wrongfully ordered things. For instance, a mandatory injunction can make the defendant transfer the possession of a property to the rightful owner. At the time of issuing a Mandatory injunction, the Court will consider whether it was necessary to grant an injunction in order to do justice or the plaintiff could be compensated adequately.

Interim or Interlocutory Injunction

An interim injunction is a temporary injunction that operates when the case is pending before the court. Therefore, it can force or avoid a party from performing certain actions. The main reason to issue an interim injunction is to preserve the status-quo. The following are taken into consideration by the court while issuing or not issuing an Interim Injunction:

• The petitioner has a prima-facie case
• The petitioner has the balance of convenience in his favour
• The petitioner will end up suffering irreparable injury

Conclusion

In this blog, we learnt about an Injunction, its types and requisites for an injunction. We also came to know that it is better to comply with an injunction otherwise various criminal or civil penalties can be levied and one can also end facing the contempt of court.