2018 AMENDMENT TO SPECIFIC RELIEF ACT HELPED IN THE EASE OF DOING BUSINESS

The Supreme Court Justice delivered the keynote address at the 3rd edition of the Law and Constitution Dialogue presented by Legally Speaking of the iTV Network.

The subject on which I wish to share my views today is the 2018 amendment to the Specific Relief Act and its potential implications for India's future, both domestically and internationally. India's evolving global positioning becomes particularly pertinent in this background, as it closely aligns with the modifications introduced by this Amendment and the overarching objectives it aims to fulfil.

SPECIFIC RELIEF ACT, 1963 AND ITS PITFALLS

When we speak of disputes arising from breach of contracts, the granting of remedies to aggrieved parties is rooted in the principle of 'ubi jus ibi remedium', which means that where there is a right, there is a remedy. The remedy of specific relief is treated differently across jurisdictions. For instance, civil law jurisdictions most commonly treat specific relief on the same level as a remedy for compensation or damages, whereas this is not so in common law countries.

India, being a common law country, has treated the remedy of specific relief for several decades as one steeped in the principle of equity but paradoxically, subject to judicial discretion. In this regard, the legal framework governing the remedy of specific relief in India was encapsulated in the Specific Relief Act, 1963 (Act). The objective of this particular Statute is to essentially safeguard civil rights and provide remedies for people whose contractual rights have been infringed.

The remedies traceable under the Act include recovery of possession of property, rectification of instruments, specific performance of contracts, injunctions, amongst others.