Injunctions — 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. What is an injunction?

   • A monetary award compensating the plaintiff for past loss
   • A judicial order restraining a person from doing, or compelling them to do, a particular act (correct answer)
   • A criminal penalty imposed after conviction
   • A statutory notice requiring registration of a business

   Explanation. An injunction is a judicial order — prohibitory (restraining an act) or mandatory (compelling an act) — aimed at preventing or remedying an ongoing or threatened wrong, rather than merely compensating past loss.

2. What is the distinction between a 'prohibitory' and a 'mandatory' injunction?

   • A prohibitory injunction restrains a person from doing an act; a mandatory injunction compels a person to do a positive act (correct answer)
   • A prohibitory injunction is always temporary; a mandatory injunction is always permanent
   • A prohibitory injunction applies only to companies; a mandatory injunction applies only to individuals
   • There is no real difference between the two

   Explanation. A prohibitory injunction restrains the defendant from doing (or continuing to do) something; a mandatory injunction compels the defendant to take positive action, such as removing an obstruction.

3. A builder keeps dumping debris on Nirmala's plot. After a full trial, the court orders him to stop for good. This is:

   • An interim injunction
   • A perpetual prohibitory injunction (correct answer)
   • A criminal injunction issued by a magistrate
   • A mandatory injunction ordering him to pay

   Explanation. A prohibitory injunction forbids a continuing or repeated wrong. A perpetual injunction is granted at the end of the trial. The court may also award damages.

4. In American Cyanamid Co v Ethicon Ltd (1975), what was the first stage of Lord Diplock's test for granting an interim injunction?

   • Whether the plaintiff has already won a similar case before
   • Whether there is a 'serious question to be tried' — i.e., the claim is not frivolous or vexatious (correct answer)
   • Whether the defendant has sufficient assets to pay damages
   • Whether the plaintiff has obtained permission from a government authority

   Explanation. The first stage of the American Cyanamid test asks only whether there is a serious question to be tried — the court does not, at this stage, assess the relative strength of the parties' cases in detail.

5. What test did American Cyanamid replace, and why?

   • It replaced the requirement to show a strong prima facie case of likely success at trial, because that required courts to resolve difficult factual/legal disputes better left for full trial (correct answer)
   • It replaced the entire law of contract with a new statutory code
   • It replaced criminal procedure rules with civil procedure rules
   • It abolished the concept of injunctions altogether

   Explanation. Before American Cyanamid, courts required a strong prima facie case; Lord Diplock held this was inappropriate at the interim stage, since it required resolving complex disputes without a full trial — replaced by the serious-question/balance-of-convenience approach.

6. After finding a serious question to be tried, what does the court weigh in the second stage of the American Cyanamid test?

   • Which party is more popular with the public
   • The 'balance of convenience' — which party would suffer greater harm if the injunction were wrongly granted or wrongly refused, including the adequacy of damages as a remedy (correct answer)
   • Only the financial status of the defendant
   • Whether either party has a criminal record

   Explanation. The second stage weighs the balance of convenience — assessing which party would suffer greater harm from a wrong decision on the injunction, and whether damages would adequately compensate either side.

7. What is a 'perpetual' (permanent) injunction, and when is it typically granted?

   • An injunction granted only during the pendency of a suit, before final trial
   • An injunction granted at the conclusion of the trial, finally and conclusively determining the plaintiff's right to restrain the defendant (correct answer)
   • An injunction that can be revoked by either party at will
   • An injunction available only in criminal proceedings

   Explanation. A perpetual (permanent) injunction is granted at the final stage of a suit, after full trial, permanently restraining the defendant based on a conclusive determination of the plaintiff's rights.

8. What is the key difference between an 'interim/interlocutory' injunction and a 'permanent' injunction?

   • An interim injunction is granted temporarily, pending final trial, based on a lower threshold (serious question + balance of convenience); a permanent injunction is granted after full trial, conclusively determining the parties' rights (correct answer)
   • They are identical in every respect except duration
   • An interim injunction can only be granted in criminal cases
   • A permanent injunction requires no evidence whatsoever

   Explanation. An interim injunction is a temporary, provisional measure granted pending trial on a lower threshold; a permanent injunction is granted only after full trial, finally determining the parties' substantive rights.

9. In a patent infringement dispute over surgical sutures, the plaintiff seeks to stop the defendant's competing product from being sold before the full trial concludes. Applying American Cyanamid, what should the court primarily assess?

   • Whether the plaintiff has already proved the defendant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt
   • Whether there is a serious question to be tried, and then where the balance of convenience lies between the parties (correct answer)
   • Only the financial strength of the two companies
   • Whether the patent was registered more than ten years ago

   Explanation. Following American Cyanamid, the court first checks for a serious question to be tried (not resolving the merits fully), then decides based on the balance of convenience between the parties.

10. Why might a court refuse an interim injunction even where a serious question to be tried exists?

    • Because interim injunctions can never be refused once a serious question exists
    • Because the balance of convenience, on weighing the relative harm to each party and the adequacy of damages as an alternative remedy, may favour refusing the injunction (correct answer)
    • Because only permanent injunctions can ever be refused
    • Because courts lack jurisdiction to refuse injunctions in commercial disputes

    Explanation. Passing the 'serious question' threshold is only the first stage — the court can still refuse the injunction if the balance of convenience, weighing relative harm and the adequacy of damages, favours the defendant.

11. Injunctions, the commonest non-money remedy in tort, are dealt with in India by:

    • Sections 36 to 42 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 (correct answer)
    • Section 73 of the Contract Act
    • The Limitation Act
    • Article 226

    Explanation. Sections 36 to 42 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 deal with injunctions. An injunction may be temporary (interim) or perpetual.