Srinagar — The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that interim injunctions cannot be granted against a person who is not a party to the proceedings, even if such person derives rights through a judgment debtor.
Justice Sanjay Dhar, delivering the judgment observed:
“There is nothing in the provisions contained in Order 39 Rule 1 and 2 CPC that would vest power with a civil court or appellate court to pass an interim injunction against a person who is not party to the proceedings.”
The Court emphasized that the remedy of interim injunction is available only against parties before the court, and cannot be extended to non-parties, regardless of whether they derive their rights through a party to the suit.
Justice Sanjay Dhar
The ruling came in an appeal where the appellants, beneficiaries of a decree of preemption, sought to restrain a subsequent purchaser of the disputed property from raising construction. The purchaser, however, was not impleaded as a party in the ongoing appeal.
Justice Dhar noted that a transferee pendente lite may be bound by the ultimate decree, but injunctive relief cannot be granted against such a person unless he is made a party to the proceedings and given an opportunity to be heard.
The Court advised that the proper remedy for the appellants was to file a fresh suit for injunction against the third-party purchaser, rather than seek an order in proceedings to which he is a stranger.
