Consequence of disobedience or breach of injunction
Full Text
(1) In the case of disobedience of any injunction granted or other order made under rule 1 or rule 2 or breach of any of the terms on which the injunction was granted or the order made, the Court granting the injunction or making the order, or any Court to which the suit or proceeding is transferred, may order the property of the person guilty of such disobedience or breach to be attached, and may also order such person to be detained in the civil prison for a term not exceeding three months, unless in the meantime the Court directs his release.
(2) No attachment made under this rule shall remain in force for more than one year, at the end of which time, if the disobedience or breach continues, the property attached may be sold and out of the proceeds, the Court may award such compensation as it thinks fit to the injured party and shall pay the balance, if any, to the party entitled thereto.
Plain English Summary
Prescribes punitive and coercive enforcement sanctions for disobedience of injunctions: civil imprisonment up to three months, attachment of the contemnor's property up to one year, and sale of attached assets to award compensation to the aggrieved party.
Key Legal Elements
- Quasi-Criminal Nature: Disobedience must be wilful and intentional; standard of proof is higher than ordinary preponderance of probabilities.
- Dual Coercive Sanctions: (1) Attachment of contemnor's personal property up to 1 year, and (2) Confinement in civil prison up to 3 months.
- Remedies Cumulative: In Samee Khan (1998), Supreme Court held attachment and civil detention are not alternative but can both be ordered.
- Sale and Compensation (Sub-rule 2): If breach persists after 1 year of attachment, property is auctioned to pay compensation to the injured party.
- Competent Forum: Either the court that passed the injunction OR the transferee court trying the suit.
- Invalidity of Alienations Made in Breach: Supreme Court in Surjit Singh (1995) held any transfer made in defiance of injunction is void in law.
Practical Note
Enforcing Injunctions & Contempt Jurisprudence: 1. Cumulative Sanctions — Samee Khan v. Bindu Khan (1998) 7 SCC 59: The Supreme Court settled that the word 'and' in Rule 2A(1) empowers the court to order BOTH attachment of property and detention in civil prison. They are not mutually exclusive or sequential alternatives. 2. Nullity of Transactions in Contempt — Surjit Singh v. Harbans Singh (1995) 6 SCC 50 & Vidya Dhar v. Mankikrao (1999) 3 SCC 573: When a party alienates property in defiance of an interim injunction, the alienation is an absolute nullity. The court has inherent power under Section 151 to undo the wrong and restore status quo ante by putting the dispossessed party back in possession. 3. Wilful Disobedience Standard — Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC v. Future Retail Ltd. (2022) 1 SCC 209: Reaffirmed that proceedings under Order XXXIX Rule 2A are quasi-criminal. Wilful breach of an emergency arbitrator's order or interim injunction must be established with cogent proof.
हिंदी पाठ
(1) नियम 1 या नियम 2 के अधीन मंजूर किए गए किसी व्यादेश या दिए गए अन्य आदेश की अवज्ञा की दशा में, अथवा जिन निबंधनों पर व्यादेश मंजूर किया गया था या आदेश दिया गया था उनमें से किसी के उल्लंघन की दशा में, वह न्यायालय जिसने व्यादेश मंजूर किया था या आदेश दिया था, अथवा ऐसा कोई न्यायालय जिसको वाद या कार्यवाही अंतरित की जाती है, ऐसी अवज्ञा या उल्लंघन के दोषी व्यक्ति की संपत्ति को कुर्क किए जाने का आदेश दे सकेगा, तथा ऐसे व्यक्ति को तीन मास से अनधिक की अवधि के लिए सिविल कारागार में निरुद्ध किए जाने का भी आदेश दे सकेगा, जब तक कि इस बीच न्यायालय उसकी रिहाई का निदेश न दे दे।
(2) इस नियम के अधीन की गई कोई भी कुर्की एक वर्ष से अधिक समय तक प्रवृत्त नहीं रहेगी, जिसकी समाप्ति पर, यदि अवज्ञा या उल्लंघन जारी रहता है, तो कुर्क की गई संपत्ति बेची जा सकेगी और उसके आगमों में से न्यायालय व्यथित पक्षकार को ऐसा प्रतिकर (Compensation) अधिनिर्णीत कर सकेगा जैसा वह ठीक समझे और यदि कोई अतिशेष हो तो उसे उसके हकदार पक्षकार को संदत्त करेगा।