Inherent powers under Section 151 CPC cannot circumvent an existing order refusing temporary injunction.

The respondents/plaintiffs filed a civil suit seeking easementary rights over a way (20 x 80 feet) on the petitioners' land and moved an application for temporary injunction under Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 of the CPC.

The Trial Court dismissed the injunction application on 12.01.2026.

The respondents challenged this via a miscellaneous appeal, which remains pending.

During the pendency of the appeal, the respondents filed a fresh application under Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 along with an application under Section 151 of the CPC before the Trial Court for the same relief.

On 13.02.2026, the Trial Court invoked Section 151 CPC to grant a status quo order, which the petitioners challenged in this Misc. Petition under Article 227 of the Constitution.

1. Whether the Trial Court was legally justified in entertaining a fresh application and granting status quo under Section 151 of the CPC while a miscellaneous appeal against the dismissal of a previous similar injunction application was pending

Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 of the CPC, which governs temporary injunctions, and Section 151 of the CPC, which provides inherent powers to the court to meet the ends of justice.

The court recognized the procedural principle that once a statutory remedy (Order 39) is exhausted and an appeal is preferred, inherent powers under Section 151 should not be used to circumvent earlier judicial orders or to grant relief that belongs to the appellate jurisdiction.

The High Court noted that the respondents had already faced a dismissal of their injunction application on merits, which was subsequently appealed.

The Court observed that the proper course for seeking interim relief, once the Trial Court had already refused it, was to approach the Appellate Court rather than filing a second application for the same relief in the Trial Court.

While the High Court indicated that the Trial Court’s order secured through Section 151 CPC was an attempt to circumvent the earlier dismissal, it observed that since the second application under Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 is still pending and a status quo order is currently in place, the immediate disturbance of that order was not necessary provided the pending application is decided promptly.

The Trial Court was directed to dispose of the second application filed under Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 of the CPC on its merits and determine its maintainability within 15 days from the receipt of the order. The status quo remains operative until such determination.