Different kinds of Injunctions under CPC, 1908

An injunction is a judicial process and equitable preventive remedy whereby a court commands or restrains a party from doing or continuing to do a particular act which threatens or violates the legal rights of another party.

Temporary (Interlocutory) Injunction

• Definition: A provisional order granted at any stage of a suit to preserve the status quo of the subject matter until a specified time or until the final disposal of the case (governed by Order 39, Rules 1 & 2 read with Section 94).
• Example: Restraining a defendant builder from demolishing a boundary wall or creating third-party rights over a disputed plot of land while the title suit is pending trial.

Permanent (Perpetual) Injunction

• Definition: A final and enduring order granted by a decree upon full trial and hearing on merits, perpetually prohibiting the defendant from asserting a right or committing an act contrary to the plaintiff’s rights (Sections 37(2) & 38, Specific Relief Act, 1963).
• Example: A final decree perpetually restraining a neighbor from trespassing into the plaintiff’s private driveway or encroaching on their registered property.

Mandatory Injunction

• Definition: An order directing and compelling a party to perform a positive, requisite act to prevent the breach of an obligation and restore the original lawful state of affairs (Section 39, Specific Relief Act, 1963).
• Example: Directing a defendant to demolish an unauthorized construction that unlawfully blocks the plaintiff’s established easementary right to light and air.

Prohibitory (Preventive) Injunction

• Definition: A negative command of the court forbidding a party from undertaking, repeating, or continuing a wrongful or harmful act (Section 38, Specific Relief Act, 1963).
• Example: Restraining a former business partner from misusing proprietary trade secrets or publishing defamatory statements against a firm.

Ad-Interim (Ex Parte) Injunction

• Definition: An immediate, emergency temporary order passed without issuing prior notice or hearing the opposite party, operative strictly until the returnable date to avoid irreversible harm (Order 39, Rule 3).
• Example: Restraining a municipal authority or private contractor from felling mature heritage trees on a disputed site before a notice could be formally served on them.

Interim Mandatory Injunction

• Definition: An extraordinary interlocutory relief granted during the pendency of a trial directing immediate positive performance to undo a recent wrongful disruption of the status quo ante.
• Example: Directing a landlord to immediately reconnect an essential water or electricity supply that was illegally disconnected to forcibly evict a tenant during ongoing litigation.

Quia Timet Injunction

• Definition: An anticipatory injunction granted before any actual damage or infringement has occurred, based on reasonable apprehension and credible threat of imminent injury.
• Example: Restraining a factory owner from commencing operations with toxic effluent disposal when the layout shows it will directly discharge into an adjoining residential drinking water reservoir.

Anti-Suit Injunction

• Definition: An order issued against a party restraining them from initiating or prosecuting legal proceedings in a foreign court or another domestic forum in breach of contract or an exclusive jurisdiction clause.
• Example: Restraining a party from pursuing parallel breach-of-contract proceedings in a foreign court when the agreement contains an exclusive jurisdiction clause submitting all disputes to Indian courts.