Based on your request for "tricks to remember" the Specific Relief Act (SRA), the sources
provide a detailed structural and conceptual framework designed for quick recall and revision,
specifically recommending the use of a comprehensive chart.
Here are the specific structural and conceptual tricks provided to help you memorize the SRA:
I. The Foundation Trick: Numbers and Structure
The primary trick is to memorize the essential organization of the Act, which forms the core
navigational structure:
1. The Big Numbers: Remember the SRA consists of 3 Parts, 8 Chapters, and 44
Sections.
2. Part I (The Basics): Sections 1 to 4 cover the Preliminary aspects.
3. Part II (The Main Relief): Sections 5 to 35 cover the Specific Relief remedies.
4. Part III (The Stop Sign): Sections 36 to 42 cover Preventive Relief.
5. The Date Trick: The Enforcement Date is March 1, 1964.
6. Section 4 Trick: Remember that the SRA is only applicable to individual civil rights
and not for enforcing penal laws (like CrPC or Evidence).
II. Part II Specific Relief Tricks (S. 5–35)
A. Recovery of Possession (Chapter I: S. 5–8)
The main trick here is dividing the recovery based on the type of property:
Immovable Property (S. 5 & 6):
o S. 5: Remember recovery based on Title (ownership).
o S. 6: Remember recovery based on prior possession, even without title, if you
were dispossessed without consent or due course of law.
S. 6 Conditions Trick (The Time Limit and Restriction):
Suit must be filed within six months from dispossession.
1.
No suit can be filed against the Government.
2.
No appeal or review lies against a decree under S. 6 (though revision is
3.
permissible).
Movable Property (S. 7 & 8):
o S. 8: Focus on the Liability of a non-owner (e.g., an agent or trustee).
B. Specific Performance of Contract (Chapter II: S. 9–25)
S. 10 Trick (The Mandatory Rule): After the 2018 amendment, granting specific
performance is mandatory ("Court shall enforce").
Exception Cluster Trick (S. 11(2), 14, 16): Memorize the conditions where specific
performance is not granted:
o S. 14 (The "Unsupervisable" Contracts): Remember the contracts that cannot
be enforced: those involving a continuous duty (which the court cannot
supervise), those dependent on personal qualification (e.g., a painter whose
hands are broken), or those that are naturally determined.
o S. 16 (The Plaintiff's Failure): Focus on the plaintiff’s failings, like failing to
prove they were ready and willing to perform.
S. 20 Trick (Substituted Performance): This means performance is achieved via a
third party or the plaintiff's own agency. The crucial procedure to remember is the 30
days written notice required from the date of breach.
Infrastructure Time Limit Trick (S. 20C): Suits related to the SRA must be disposed
of within 12 months (extendable by six months).
Infrastructure Injunction Trick (S. 20A): The court shall not grant injunction for
infrastructure projects.
C. Other Specific Reliefs
Rescission Trick (S. 27–30): Associate rescission with simple cancellation of a
contract.
Cancellation Trick (S. 31–33): Remember the concept of Partial Cancellation (S. 32),
where the court can cancel only the separable parts of an instrument.
Declaratory Decree Trick (S. 34 Proviso): The key restriction: a declaratory decree
should be refused if the plaintiff omits to seek further relief that they were entitled to
claim.
III. Part III Preventive Relief Tricks (S. 36–42)
Injunction Types Trick (S. 36): Preventive relief is granted through only Two Types of
injunctions: Temporary Injunction and Perpetual Injunction.
Temporary Injunction Trick (S. 37): Remember it is granted at any stage of the suit
and is regulated by CPC Order 39.
The Negative Agreement Trick (S. 42): This is highly important: If the court cannot
compel the performance of a positive/affirmative agreement, it is not precluded from
enforcing the performance of a negative agreement (i.e., stopping them from doing
something else).
