Specific Relief Act including 2018 Amendment — MCQs

All questions with answers and explanations

Read the full set here, or use the practice card above to test yourself one question at a time.

1. Specific relief, as opposed to damages, gives the injured party:

   • A larger sum of money
   • The exact thing he was entitled to, not its money value (correct answer)
   • Only punitive compensation
   • A right to terminate the contract

   Explanation. Specific relief means relief in specie — the actual thing a party was entitled to, not a substitute money value.

2. The Specific Relief Act, 1963 replaced which earlier statute?

   • Indian Contract Act, 1872
   • Specific Relief Act, 1877 (correct answer)
   • Transfer of Property Act, 1882
   • Sale of Goods Act, 1930

   Explanation. The Specific Relief Act, 1963 (Act 47 of 1963) replaced the Specific Relief Act, 1877, and came into force on 1 March 1964.

3. How many Parts does the Specific Relief Act, 1963 have?

   • Two
   • Three (correct answer)
   • Four
   • Five

   Explanation. The Act has three Parts: Part I (Preliminary), Part II (Specific Relief), and Part III (Preventive Relief), across eight chapters.

4. Under Section 4 of the Specific Relief Act, specific relief can be granted:

   • For enforcing any penal law
   • Only for enforcing individual civil rights, not for enforcing penal law (correct answer)
   • For criminal matters only
   • Only against the Government

   Explanation. Section 4 restricts specific relief to enforcing individual civil rights, not merely to enforce a penal law.

5. Section 3 of the Specific Relief Act provides that:

   • The Act cancels the right to sue for damages under the Indian Contract Act
   • The Act saves other contractual remedies, such as damages (correct answer)
   • The Act applies only to movable property
   • The Act repeals the Indian Registration Act, 1908

   Explanation. Section 3 is a savings clause — it does not deprive a person of any right to relief other than specific performance, and preserves the Indian Registration Act's operation.

6. The Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018 came into force on:

   • 1 January 2018
   • 1 October 2018 (correct answer)
   • 31 December 2018
   • 1 April 2019

   Explanation. The Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018 came into force on 1 October 2018.

7. Before the 2018 amendment, specific performance under Section 10 was:

   • Mandatory in every case
   • A matter of the court's discretion (correct answer)
   • Not available at all
   • Available only for movable property

   Explanation. Before 2018, specific performance was discretionary — courts could refuse it even in a genuine breach, especially if damages seemed adequate.

8. Which of the following is NOT one of the kinds of relief under the Specific Relief Act, 1963?

   • Recovery of possession of property
   • Specific performance of contracts
   • Award of criminal punishment (correct answer)
   • Declaratory decrees

   Explanation. The seven kinds of relief are: recovery of possession, specific performance, rectification, rescission, cancellation, declaratory decrees and preventive relief (injunctions). Criminal punishment is not one of them (Section 4).