1. This Act may be called the Specific Relief Act, 1877.

It extends to the whole of Bangladesh.

And it shall come into force on the first day of May, 1877.

2. [Repealed by the Amending Act, 1891 (Act No. XII of 1891).]

3. In this Act, unless there be something repugnant in the subject or context,- "obligation" includes every duty enforceable by law: "trust" includes every species of express, implied, or constructive fiduciary ownership: "trustee" includes every person holding, expressly, by implication, or constructively, a fiduciary character: Illustrations (a) Z bequeaths land to A, "not doubting that he will pay there-out an annuity of Taka 1,000 to B for his life". A accepts the bequest. A is a trustee, within the meaning of this Act, for B, to the extent of the annuity. (b) A is the legal, medical, or spiritual adviser of B. By availing himself of his situation as such adviser, A gains some pecuniary advantage which might otherwise have accrued to B. A is trustee, for B, within the meaning of this Act, of such advantage. (c) A, being B's banker discloses for his own purpose the state of B's account. A is a trustee, within the meaning of this Act, for the B, of the benefit gained by him by means of such disclosure. (d) A, the mortgagee of certain leaseholds, renews the lease in his own name. A is trustee, within the meaning of this Act, of the renewed lease, for those interested in the original lease. (e) A, one of several partners, is employed to purchase goods for the firm. A, unknown to his co-partners, supplies them, at the market price, with goods previously bought by himself when the price was lower, and thus makes a considerable profit. A is a trustee for his co-partners, within the meaning of this Act, of the profit so made. (f) A, the manager of B's indigo-factory, becomes agents for C, a vendor of indigo-seed, and receives, without B's assent, commission on the seed purchased from C for the factory. A is the trustee, within the meaning of this Act, for B, of the commission so received. (g) A buys certain land with notice that B has already contracted to buy it. A is a trustee, within the meaning of this Act, for B, of the land so bought. (h) A buys land from B, having notice that C is in occupation of the land. A omits to make any inquiry as to the nature of C's interest therein. A is a trustee, within the meaning of this Act, for C, to the extent of that interest. "settlement" means any instrument (other than a will or codicil as defined by the ¹[Succession Act, 1925] whereby the destination or devolution of successive interests in moveable or immoveable property is disposed of or is agreed to be disposed of:

and all words occurring in this Act, which are defined in the Contract Act, 1872, shall be deemed to have the meanings respectively assigned to them by that Act.

4. Except where it is herein otherwise expressly enacted, nothing in this Act shall be deemed-(a) to give any right to relief in respect of any agreement which is not a contract;(b) to deprive any person of any right to relief, other than specific performance, which he may have under any contract; or (c) to affect the operation of the ²[Registration Act, 1908] on documents.

5. Specific relief is given-(a) by taking possession of certain property and delivering it to a claimant;(b) by ordering a party to do the very act which he is under an obligation to do;(c) by preventing a party from doing that which he is under an obligation not to do;(d) by determining and declaring the rights of parties otherwise than by an award of compensation; or (e) by appointing a receiver.

6. Specific relief granted under clause (c) of section 5 is called preventive relief.

7. Specific relief cannot be granted for the mere purpose of enforcing a penal law.