Remedies provided in specific relief Act 1963

large number of remedial aspects of law have been taken care of by the Specific Relief Act of 1963. This act is a replacement of the earlier Act of 1877. A mere declaration of rights and duties is not sufficient to give protection to life and property. Enumeration of rights and duties must be supplemented by legal devices which can help the individual to enforce his rights. Every person who is injured in the social process must have a social redress. Only then it will be possible to say that human societies have been so organized as to assure that wherever there is a wrong there must be a remedy. This is the mission of this Act.

Generally , remedies are also provided by the branch of substantive law which defines rights and duties for its own purposes. The law of contract provides the remedy for breach of contract. The law of torts similarly provides for recovery of damages in several cases of tortuous wrongs.

Substantive laws however can never affords to be exhaustive in terms of their remedies and reliefs. Such act does not confer any rights in itself. It only provides a specific relief so as to remedy the violation of a legal rights.

Act not Exhaustive

Though the Act widens the sphere of the civil court, its preamble shows that the act is not exhaustive of all kinds of specific reliefs. The Act is not restricted to specific performance of contracts as the statute governs powers of the court in granting specific reliefs in a variety of fields. Even so the Act does not cover all specific reliefs conceivable.

Following are the network of relief allowed by the Act falls under the following outlines-

1. 1. Recovery of Possession of Property- the very first chapter provides relief to those who have been dispossessed of their property.
2. 2. Specific performance of contracts- one of the important aspect of civil right is the fulfillment of the expectations created by a contract voluntarily made by the parties. Contract is not just an isolated transaction. It is often link in a chain of several contracts. A failure at one place can cause a serious dislocation of economic social life. the contract must be enforced. The only way the law of contract can enforce a contract is by awarding compensation to the injured person. This important function is undertaken by the Second Chapter of this Act.
3. 3. Rectification and cancellation of Instruments and Rescission of Contract- Many transactions are required by law to be in writing. A written transaction is an instrument. An instrument is the result of negotiations. Occasionally it happens that the instrument that emerges fails to express the intention of the parties. Its rectification may become necessary.  Chapter III helps in this aspect.

Chapter IV deals with the category of documents which are afterwards discovered to be void or which becomes void. They ought to be cancelled.

Chapter V deals with a category of contract which, for one reason or another, such as for example, lacks of free consent are voidable at the option of the party whose consent was not free. He has right to have the contract rescinded.

1. Preventive Relief- there are cases which the nature of the contract does not admit of specific performance, nor are damages likely to serve any purpose. In such cases the court may have to restrain the party threatening breach, to the extent to which it is possible to do so. This type of remedy is known as preventive relief. It is granted by issuing an order , known as injunction, upon the party concerned directing to him not to do a particular act or asking him to perform a particular duty, known as mandatory injunction.

1. 5. Declaratory Relief- occasionally it may happen that a person is entitled to some status or character or has a right in some property, but there are persons who are denying him the enjoyment of his right. He is allowed by Chapter VI of this Act. The court may issue a general declaration as to his entitlement to such rights.