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Tushar Himatlal Jani v. Jasbir Singh Vijan

Civil Appeal · 2025 INSC 663Decided 13 May 2025
C.A. No.-006636-006636 - 2025 (Arising out of SLP (C) No(s). 2657/2025)
Justice Surya Kant · Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh

Background

The appellant's father had leased out part of a large plot in Chembur, Mumbai to a partnership firm belonging to the Vijan family in 1972. After the lease was terminated and an eviction suit filed, one family member (Respondent No. 1) claimed rights over a small 550-square-foot portion based on a family settlement agreement reached through court-appointed mediation, and separately claimed a tenancy right in that sliver of land. After the original tenant firm surrendered its tenancy and the eviction suit was withdrawn, Respondent No. 1 still sought and won an interim injunction from the Bombay High Court restraining the appellant from disturbing his possession of that 550-square-foot patch, stalling the appellant's redevelopment of the entire 22,000-square-foot property.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court erred in granting the injunction because Respondent No. 1 had not established a prima facie case: his claimed tenancy rights were themselves the subject of a still-pending trial before the Small Causes Court, and mere assertions under a family settlement did not by themselves prove ownership or tenancy. Applying the settled three-part test for interim injunctions (prima facie case, balance of convenience, and irreparable harm), the Court found the balance of convenience and irreparable harm both favoured the appellant, since the disputed area was a small fraction of the whole property and the appellant, as owner, was suffering real financial loss from the stalled redevelopment. The Court set aside the High Court's injunction but, to balance equities, directed the appellant to keep one unit of about 550 square feet reserved in the redeveloped property as security in case Respondent No. 1 ultimately wins his pending civil suit.

Lesson Learnt

An interim injunction cannot be granted merely because a party asserts a right through a settlement or family arrangement. Courts must first be satisfied there is a genuine prima facie case, and a property owner cannot be indefinitely blocked from using the bulk of their property over a disputed fragment while the underlying ownership question is still on trial.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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