equity

In English law, equity grew from petitions to the Lord Chancellor where the common law gave no remedy or an unjust one. It developed remedies such as specific performance, injunction, rectification and the trust, and maxims such as “he who seeks equity must do equity”, “he who comes into equity must come with clean hands” and “delay defeats equities”. The Judicature Acts of 1873–75 fused the administration of law and equity.

India never had separate courts of equity. Equitable principles entered through the direction to decide by “justice, equity and good conscience” and are now largely codified in the Specific Relief Act, 1963, the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 and the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. Equitable remedies remain discretionary.

Example

Specific performance is an equity remedy and so remains discretionary, even after the 2018 amendment to the Specific Relief Act narrowed that discretion.

In Indian law

• Specific Relief Act, 1963 (as amended in 2018)
• Indian Trusts Act, 1882

See also

delay defeats equities · equity of redemption · estoppel

Read more in the study notes

• Excessive delegation, conditional legislation and sub-delegation (Administrative Law)
• Promissory estoppel, legitimate expectation and proportionality (Administrative Law)
• Lok Adalats and Permanent Lok Adalats (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
• Lending by banks: principles, priority sector, securities, interest and penalty (Banking Law)
• Estoppel (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam)
• Reports: types, importance and company reports (Business Communications)