Injunction

Specific Relief Act, 1963 — Sections 37–42; Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — Order XXXIX

A court order restraining a party from doing a particular act (prohibitory injunction) or compelling a party to do a specific act (mandatory injunction). In debt recovery disputes, borrowers often seek injunctions to restrain banks from proceeding under SARFAESI. Courts are reluctant to grant injunctions against SARFAESI enforcement given the specific alternative remedy under Section 17 of the Act.

In practice, an injunction is the relief borrowers most often seek to halt recovery and the relief banks most often resist. Under the Specific Relief Act, 1963 (Sections 37-42) and Order XXXIX of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, a borrower may ask a civil court to restrain a bank from proceeding under SARFAESI — but courts are reluctant to grant it because the Act provides a specific alternative remedy by way of a Section 17 application to the DRT. The practical lesson for a borrower is forum: a civil-court injunction against SARFAESI enforcement is usually refused or vacated on the alternative-remedy ground, so the genuine challenge belongs before the DRT, where interim protection can be sought on proper grounds. For a creditor, an adverse interim order can freeze possession and sale, so vacating it quickly is a priority. Parties choose the correct tribunal and plead a real triable issue rather than seeking a reflexive stay.