The Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018
("Amendment Act"), effective from
October 1, 2018, introduced significant amendments to the Specific
Relief Act, 1963 ("1963 Act"), with the
intended objective of providing a higher level of certainty when it
comes to enforcement of contracts in India. In this article, we
have discussed some of the key amendments brought about by the
Amendment Act.
Courts no longer have discretion in granting specific
relief
Under the 1963 Act, the courts had the discretion to grant
specific relief, and as a result, this relief was granted only in
exceptional circumstances. Pursuant to the Amendment Act, Section
10 now states that specific performance of a contract shall be
enforced by the court, subject to the limited grounds of refusal
prescribed. This is a marked departure from the earlier principle
where specific relief was the exception and not the norm. With this
amendment, granting of specific relief has now been made the norm
and
