Legal Glossary · Civil Remedies

Types of Injunction: Meaning, Explained Simply (2026)

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

An injunction is a court order that tells a person to do something or, more often, to stop doing something. In India a temporary injunction during the case is granted under Order 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, while a permanent injunction given at the end of the case is granted under the Specific Relief Act, 1963. The main types are temporary and permanent, and each can be prohibitory, telling someone to stop, or mandatory, telling someone to act. This guide explains each type, the law it comes from, the test a court applies, a simple example, and the terms people mix up. This is general information, last verified October 2026, and not legal advice.

01What an injunction is

An injunction is a court order aimed at a person. It either stops that person from doing something, such as selling a disputed property or using a brand name, or requires them to do something, such as pulling down an illegal structure. It is one of the main ways a court protects a legal right.

Indian law splits injunctions along two lines. The first line is timing: is the order for the period while the case runs, or is it the final relief in the decree. The second line is direction: does the order tell the person to stop, or to act. Putting the two lines together gives the common types you hear about.

Think of an injunction in two questions. For how long, temporary or permanent, and in which direction, stop doing or start doing.

02Temporary vs permanent injunction

Temporary injunction is an order that lasts only for a set time or until the court orders otherwise, usually while the case is going on. It is granted under Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Its job is to hold the position steady so the final decision is not made meaningless. See Order 39 temporary injunction for the detail.

Permanent injunction, also called a perpetual injunction, is granted by the final decree after the case is heard fully. It is governed by sections 37 to 42 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963. It permanently restrains the defendant from doing the wrongful act. See permanent injunction suit.

03Prohibitory vs mandatory injunction

The other way injunctions are split is by what they ask the person to do.

• Prohibitory injunction: the common kind. It stops a person from doing a wrongful act, for example stopping a neighbour from blocking a shared passage.
• Mandatory injunction: it orders a person to do a positive act, usually to undo a wrong already done, for example to remove an illegal wall. A perpetual mandatory injunction is dealt with in section 39 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963. Courts grant mandatory injunctions more carefully because they compel action. See mandatory injunction.

Both prohibitory and mandatory injunctions can be either temporary, during the case, or permanent, in the decree. So you can have a temporary mandatory injunction, which courts grant only in a clear case, and a permanent prohibitory injunction, which is the most common final relief.

04The test courts apply

For a temporary injunction, Indian courts look at three well settled factors together. All three usually need to point the same way.

1. Prima facie case: there is a serious question to be tried and the applicant has an arguable right. This does not mean the applicant has already won.
2. Balance of convenience: the inconvenience or harm to the applicant if the order is refused is greater than the inconvenience to the other side if it is granted.
3. Irreparable injury: the harm the applicant would suffer cannot be made good by money alone.

The court can also require the applicant to give an undertaking to pay damages if the injunction later turns out to be wrongly obtained. For a permanent injunction, the court instead decides the whole dispute on full evidence and grants the injunction as part of the decree if the right is proved.

For how such requests are moved in practice, see how to file an interim application.

05A simple example

Suppose a small company finds that a rival is selling goods under a name almost identical to its registered brand. The company files a suit for a permanent injunction to stop the rival from using the name. Because the harm to its reputation is building every day, it also asks for a temporary injunction at once.

At the first hearing the court looks at the three factors. If the company shows a prima facie case, that the balance of convenience is in its favour, and that the damage to goodwill cannot be undone by money, the court may grant a temporary prohibitory injunction stopping the rival from using the name while the case runs. At the end of the trial, if the company proves its case, the court grants a permanent injunction in the decree.

06Words people confuse with it

• Injunction vs stay: an injunction is aimed at a person and their conduct. A stay usually halts a proceeding or the effect of an order, often by a higher court. They overlap in everyday speech but are technically different.
• Temporary injunction vs interim order: a temporary injunction is one type of interim order. Interim order is the wider class that also covers receivers, deposits and other mid case directions.
• Mandatory injunction vs specific performance: specific performance makes a party carry out a contract. A mandatory injunction orders a positive act to undo a wrong, which may or may not arise from a contract.
• Ad interim vs interim: an ad interim injunction is granted at the very first hearing, often without hearing the other side fully, and lasts until the interim application is decided after both sides are heard.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

Whether a court will grant an injunction in your facts depends heavily on how courts have applied the three factor test and the Specific Relief Act in similar cases. A reader who wants to see how courts have actually used these terms can search Claw across 30 crore+ judgments, from the Supreme Court since 1950 and High Courts since 1990, or ask Legal GPT in plain words, with results in under 5 seconds across 9,102 courts, benches and forums. Claw does not train on your documents. You can create a FREE Claw account to read how temporary and permanent injunctions have been granted or refused in matters like yours. This is research support, not legal advice.

08Sources and further reading

Check the current text and the latest rulings before you rely on this:

• India Code (Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and the Specific Relief Act, 1963): indiacode.nic.in
• eCourts (case status and cause lists): ecourts.gov.in
• Supreme Court of India (judgments on injunctions): sci.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This page is general information, last verified October 2026, and is not legal advice.

09Frequently asked questions