Specific Relief and its Provision

Little Description:

The Law relating to the specific relief provided in the Specific Relief Act 1963. The Act was enacted to define and amend the law relating to certain specific relief. As per the England meaning the “relief” means the remedy granted by the Court to the person applied for. There are two types of remedy available in case of any wrong happened one those by which the suitor obtain the actual things he lost and another the compensation for the damage accrued to the person. The first one is the specific relief while the later is compensatory relief. Specific relief is a remedy which acts as a exact fulfillment of n application and the compensatory relief was the only relief available under the common law before the equity jurisprudence came into picture. Such relief are based on the ground of inadequacy of common law remedy of damage. It is only when the legal remedy is inadequate or defective that it become the necessary for Courts of Equity to interfere. Specific relief granted only for the purpose of enforcing individuals civil right and not for the mere purpose of enforcing the penal law. But if the enforcement of penal law is purely an incidental matter the court will not refuse specific relief.

Scope of the Act:

Specific relief Act is not exhaustive enactment as to contain the entire area relating to specific relief. It is not a consolidating enactment. There are other kinds of specific remedy provided for by other enactment e.g. the transfer of property Act deals with specific remedies available to a mortgagor or mortgagee, the Partnership Act deals with the specific remedies like dissolution and accounts as between partners. The remedies available under the Specific relief Act 1963:

a) Recovering Possession of Property (Sec 5 to 8)

b) Specific Performance of Contracts (Sec 9 to 25)

c) Rectification of instrument (Sec 26)

d) Rescission of Contract (Sec 27 to 30)

e) Cancellation of instrument (Sec 31 to 33)

f) Declaratory Decrees (Sec 34 to 35) and

g) Injunctions (Sec 36 to 42)

Principle on which the Court acts Granting Specific Performance:

1. Remedy of specific performance is only supplementary to the common law remedy of damages and hence equity will not interfere.

2. The remedies should be mutual.

3. There are certain kinds of contracts of which specific performance will not be decreed at all.

4. The remedy of granting specific performance is discretionary with the court.

5. In case of involvement of general superintendence which could not be undertaken by any court than remedy cannot be given.

Eligibility to Claim Specific Performance:

Sec 15 lays that specific performance of a contract may be obtained by (i) any party, (ii) The representative in interest or the principal of the party. (iii) Where the contract is settlement of marriage between member of family any person entitled thereon. (iv) In case of tenant for life contract in the due exercise of power the remainder man.

Contract which can be specifically enforced:

Sec 10 provides the cases in which specific performance of the contract is enforceable. It says that except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the specific performance of any contract, in the discretion of the court, be enforced (i) When there exist no standard for ascertaining the actual damage caused by the non-performance of the contract, (ii) When the act agreed to be done is such that monetary compensation would not adequate relief.

Contract which cannot be specifically enforced:

As per sec 14 specific performance is not available on the following contract-

(a) Where monetary compensation is adequate relief.

(b) Contract in which specific performance not possible.

(c) A contract in the nature of determinable.

So from the above we can learn the basic thing about Specific Performance.