Temporary Injunction

Temporary Injunction can be defined as,

Temporary injunction n. a court order prohibiting an action by a party to a lawsuit until

there has been a trial or other court action. A temporary injunction differs from a
"temporary restraining order" which is a short-term, stop-gap injunction issued pending
a hearing, at which time a temporary injunction may be ordered to be in force until trial.
The purpose of a temporary injunction is to maintain the status quo and prevent
irreparable damage or change before the legal questions are determined. After the trial
the court may issue a "permanent injunction" (making the temporary injunction a
lasting rule) or "dissolve" (cancel) the temporary injunction.1

In the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, Order XXXIX Rule 1- relating to temporary injunctions
provides, in material part, as follows:

Cases in which temporary injunction may be granted

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 be 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.

1
LEGAL DICTIONARY, http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/temporary+injunction (visited on Sep. 20th,
2017).
Temporary injunctions are granted on the basis of a prima facie case, until the case is heard
and decided on its merits. For instance, there may be need to prevent fraudulent removal or
disposal of property, or wrongful seizure of property in dispute, and the injunction may help in
status quo to be maintained.

Object of temporary injunction

Temporary injunction is granted as in interim measure on an application by the plaintiff to
preserve the status quo until the case is heard and decided. In granting temporary injunction,
the court takes into consideration the prima facie case of the plaintiff, nature and extent of his
injury, balance of convenience and the existence or otherwise of the alternative remedy.2

Parties involved
Regarding the point as to who may apply for such an injunction, it is not the plaintiff alone
who can apply. A defendant may also make an application for grant of an injunction against
the plaintiff.3 An injunction may be issued only against a party and not against a stranger or a
third party.4 It also cannot be issued against a court or judicial officer. Normally, injunction
can be granted against persons within the jurisdiction of the court concerned.5

2
I.P. MASSEY, ADMINISTRATIVE LAW 424 (Eastern Book Company 7th Ed. 2008).
3
Rattu v. Mala, AIR 1968 Raj 212; Varghese v. Joseph Thomas, AIR 1957 TC286; Municipal Corpn. Of Greater
Bombay v. Bhagwan Sakharam Salaskar, AIR 1974 Bom 272.
4
L. D. Meston School Society v. Kashi Nath, AIR 1951 All 558; Fakira v. Rumsukhibai, AIR 1946 Nag 428;
Marwari Sabha v. Kanhaya Lal, AIR 1973 All 298.
5
P. Venkatachalan v. Rajagpala Naidu, AIR 1932 Mad 705; T. A. Menon v. K. P. Parvathi Ammal, AIR 1950
Mad 373.