Report No. 147

1.2. History of the Legislation.-

The Law of Specific Relief in India was originally codified by the Specific Relief Act, 1887. The provisions of this enactment were considered by the Law Commission in its Ninth Report which led to the enactment of the Specific Relief Act (Act 47 of 1963) in place of the earlier enactment. The Ninth Report of the Commission pointed out valid reasons for the then state of affairs and the new legislation proposed by it was confined to seven forms of specific relief, viz.-

(1) Recovery of possession of property;

(2) Specific performance of contracts;

(3) Rectification of instruments;

(4) Rescission of contracts;

(5) Cancellation of instruments;

(6) Declaratory decrees; and

(7) Injunction.

Compensatory relief of various kinds and certain forms of specific relief specifically mentioned in certain enactments were kept out of the purview of 1963 Act.