restitution

Restitution aims to reverse unjust enrichment, not to compensate loss. In Indian law the main sources are: s.65 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (when an agreement is discovered to be void, or a contract becomes void, a person who received an advantage must restore it); s.64 (restoration on rescission of a voidable contract); and the quasi-contract provisions in ss.68 to 72, such as payment by mistake or under coercion (s.72).

In civil procedure, s.144 CPC requires restitution when a decree is varied or reversed: the party who benefited must be restored to the position he would have occupied but for the decree. Section 33 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 allows the court to order restitution when a contract is cancelled or rescinded. Courts apply restitution against minors cautiously, since Mohori Bibee held s.65 does not apply to an agreement void because of minority.

Example

When the decree was reversed on appeal, the decree-holder had to return the attached sum with interest under s.144 CPC.

In Indian law

• Sections 64, 65 and 68–72, Indian Contract Act, 1872
• Section 144, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
• Mohori Bibee v. Dharmodas Ghose (Privy Council, 1903)

See also

quasi-contract · rescission · restitutio in integrum · void agreement

Read more in the study notes

• Reference, review and revision; caveat, restitution and the inherent powers of the court (Civil Procedure Code and Limitation Act)
• Need for ADR, international commitments and suitability of disputes (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
• Disposal of property: photography, videography and time-bound release (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
• Introduction to the CPC: procedural law, history and key definitions (Civil Procedure Code and Limitation Act)
• Judgment and decree: definitions, kinds, and Order XX (Civil Procedure Code and Limitation Act)
• Modes of execution: arrest and detention, attachment, and sale (Civil Procedure Code and Limitation Act)