Suit for an Injunction

‘Injunction’ is an order of a court restraining a person from doing particular act. It is a mode of securing the specific performance” of the negative terms of the contract. To put it differently, where a party is in breach of negative term of the contract (i. e., where he is doing something which he promised not to do), the court may, by issuing an injunction, restrain him from doing, what he promised not to do. Thus ‘-injunction’ is a preventive relief. It is particularly appropriate in cases of anticipatory breach of contract where damages would not be an adequate relief.

Illustration

(a) A, agreed to sing at B’s theatre for three months from 1st April and to sing for no one else during that period. Subsequently she contracted to-sing at C’s theatre and refused to sing at B’s theatre. On a suit by B, the court refused to order specific performance of her positive engagement to sing at the plaintiff’s theatre, but granted an injunction restraining A from singing elsewhere and awarded damages to B to compensate him for the loss caused by A’s refusal. (Lumley vs Wagnerl)

(b) G agreed to take the whole of his supply of electricity from a certain company. The agreement was held to import a negative promise that he would take none from elsewhere. He was, therefore, restrained by an injunction from buying electricity from any other company. (Metropolitan Electric Supply Company vs Ginder).