Temporary Injunction Under Order 39 CPC: the Three Tests (2026)
How a court grants a temporary injunction under Order 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure: the three tests of prima facie case, balance of convenience, and irreparable injury. When an injunction can be granted without notice, and the duty to decide the application quickly. Last verified October 2026.
Explainer · Civil Procedure · CPC
A temporary injunction under Order 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) is an interim order that holds the position steady until the suit is decided. Courts do not grant it for the asking. The applicant must clear three tests, taken together: a prima facie case, the balance of convenience in its favour, and irreparable injury that money cannot repair if the injunction is refused. This explainer sets out Order 39 Rules 1 and 2, the three tests, when an injunction can be granted without notice to the other side, and the court's duty to decide the application quickly. Last verified October 2026.
- What it is: a temporary injunction under Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 CPC is an interim order that preserves the position until the suit is decided.
- Three tests: prima facie case, balance of convenience, and irreparable injury. All three must favour the applicant.
- Without notice: under Rule 3, an injunction can be granted ex parte only in urgent cases, with reasons recorded and the other side served at once.
- 30-day duty: under Rule 3A, the court must endeavour to decide the application within 30 days of an ex parte injunction, and record reasons for any delay.
01The problem it solves
A civil suit can take years. In that time, the thing in dispute can be sold, built upon, destroyed, or changed beyond repair, so that a decree at the end is worth little. A temporary injunction stops that. It freezes the position, or restrains a party from doing a particular act, so the court's final decision still means something.
Because an injunction restrains a party before any final finding of wrong, courts are careful. They grant it only where the applicant shows a real need, measured by three settled tests. The order is interim, and can be modified or vacated as the case develops.
02When a temporary injunction can be granted
Order 39 Rule 1 lists situations where the court may grant a temporary injunction, mainly where property in dispute is in danger of being wasted, damaged, alienated or wrongfully sold, or where the defendant threatens to remove or dispose of property to defraud creditors, or to dispossess the plaintiff or cause injury in relation to the disputed property.
Order 39 Rule 2 lets the court grant an injunction to restrain a defendant from committing a breach of contract or other injury, in a suit for restraining such a breach or injury. Together, Rules 1 and 2 are the main source of the power to grant a temporary injunction in a pending suit.
A temporary injunction preserves the subject matter of the suit, so that the final decree is not reduced to a paper victory.
03The three tests
Beyond the words of the rules, courts apply three settled tests. All three must point the same way before an injunction is granted:
- Prima facie case: the applicant must show a serious question to be tried and a real, arguable case, not a bare claim. This is not proof of the case, only that there is something worth trying.
- Balance of convenience: the court weighs the hardship to the applicant if the injunction is refused against the hardship to the other side if it is granted. The balance must tilt in the applicant's favour.
- Irreparable injury: the applicant must show that, without the injunction, it will suffer an injury that cannot be adequately compensated in money. If damages are an adequate remedy, an injunction is usually refused.
All three, read together
A strong case on one test does not make up for a failure on another. The applicant must satisfy all three. Courts also keep in mind that the injunction is equitable relief, so conduct, delay and good faith matter.
04Ex parte injunctions and Rule 3
As a rule, the court gives notice to the opposite party before granting an injunction. Order 39 Rule 3 allows the court, in urgent cases, to grant an injunction without notice, but only where the object of granting it would be defeated by delay. When it does so, the court must record its reasons for proceeding without notice, and the applicant must take steps to serve the other side with the application and papers at once.
An ex parte injunction is therefore an exception, hedged by safeguards. The other side can move the court under Order 39 Rule 4 to vacate or vary the injunction, and the court can discharge it if it was obtained by suppressing material facts or by misrepresentation.
05The 30-day duty and disobedience
Order 39 Rule 3A addresses the risk that an ex parte injunction lingers for months. Where an injunction is granted without notice, the court shall make an endeavour to finally decide the application within 30 days from the date of the grant, and if it cannot, it must record its reasons. The Supreme Court has read this as a legislative mandate and a duty on the court, though not an automatic cut-off: the injunction does not lapse on its own at 30 days, but the court is bound to try to decide it in time and to explain any delay.
Breach of an injunction has consequences. Under Order 39 Rule 2A, a person who disobeys or breaches an injunction can have his property attached, and in a serious case can be detained in civil prison for a term the rule specifies.
Where a party seeks injunction in a suit, procedural steps such as amendment of pleadings under Order 6 Rule 17 may run alongside, and a defendant hit with an ex parte injunction should move promptly under Rule 4.
06Where 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.
An injunction turns on how a court has read prima facie case, balance of convenience and irreparable injury on facts close to yours, and interim orders are made and varied all the time. Claw lets you search 30 crore+ judgments by party, by advocate or by the Order 39 question in issue, drawing on Supreme Court decisions from 1950 and High Court decisions from 1990, with results in under 5 seconds. For a pending injunction application, it also tracks the cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, so a fresh interim order does not catch you unaware.
What you upload stays private; Claw does not use customer documents to train its AI models. Open a free Claw account to research how courts weigh the three tests and to watch a live injunction matter. To search the wider body of law, see case search across Indian courts.
07Sources and further reading
- India Code (Code of Civil Procedure, 1908): indiacode.nic.in
- Indian Kanoon (judgments on Order 39 Rules 1 and 2): indiankanoon.org
- LiveLaw (injunction and Order 39 coverage): livelaw.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The law changes through amendments and judgments, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.
08Frequently asked questions
What are the three tests for a temporary injunction?
Prima facie case, balance of convenience, and irreparable injury. The applicant must show a real arguable case, that the hardship balance favours it, and that it will suffer an injury not compensable in money if the injunction is refused. All three tests must be satisfied together.
Under which rules is a temporary injunction granted?
Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Rule 1 covers danger to property in dispute and similar situations. Rule 2 covers restraining a breach of contract or other injury. Section 94 and the court's inherent powers support this relief.
Can a court grant an injunction without notice?
Yes, but only in urgent cases where giving notice would defeat the object of the injunction. Under Order 39 Rule 3 the court must record its reasons for proceeding ex parte, and the applicant must serve the other side with the application and papers at once.
Does an ex parte injunction lapse after 30 days?
Not automatically. Under Order 39 Rule 3A the court must make an endeavour to decide the injunction application within 30 days of granting it ex parte, and record reasons if it cannot. The Supreme Court has read this as a duty on the court, not as an automatic expiry of the injunction.
What happens if a party disobeys an injunction?
Under Order 39 Rule 2A, a person who disobeys or breaches an injunction can have his property attached and, in a serious case, can be detained in civil prison. The court treats breach of an injunction as a serious matter.
Where can I find judgments on Order 39 injunctions?
Claw searches 30 crore+ judgments on Order 39 by party or advocate name and follows the hearings and interim orders of a live injunction matter across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with results in under 5 seconds. It researches and tracks the case but does not give legal advice.