Declaration as a Remedy Against the Administration

In one line

A declaration is a court's statement of what the legal position is, and it works against the administration because an administration that knows it has lost usually complies.

In the wording a student can write in an exam: section 34 of the Specific Relief Act 1963 provides that any person entitled to any legal character, or to any right as to any property, may institute a suit against any person denying or interested to deny his title to such character or right, and the court may in its discretion make a declaration that he is so entitled; the proviso bars a declaration where the plaintiff, being able to seek further relief than a mere declaration of title, omits to do so.

The provision, in its own words

Section 34 also carries an Explanation: a trustee of property is a person interested to deny a title adverse to the title of someone who is not in existence, and for whom, if in existence, he would be a trustee.

Section 35 provides that a declaration made under Chapter VI is binding only on the parties to the suit, persons claiming through them respectively, and, where any of the parties are trustees, on the persons for whom, if in existence at the date of the declaration, those parties would be trustees.

The elements a student must be able to list

A legal character or a right to property. Legal character means status: a citizen, an heir, a member of a service, the holder of an office. The expression is wide enough to cover a person's status as an employee, which is why the remedy matters in service cases.

A denial, or a person interested to deny. The defendant must be denying the plaintiff's title, or be interested in denying it.

The court's discretion. The section says the court may in its discretion make the declaration.

The proviso. If the plaintiff can ask for consequential relief and does not, no declaration will be made. So a dismissed employee who could ask for reinstatement and arrears must ask for them, and cannot sue for a bare declaration that his dismissal is void.

Section 35: binding only on the parties. This is the great weakness of the remedy compared with a writ, which quashes the order for all purposes.

Why the remedy matters against the administration

Because it fits an invalid order exactly. If the order is a nullity, what the citizen wants is a statement that it is, and a declaration says so.

Because it survives where a writ is refused. A civil suit is available as of right, so a person defeated by laches or by a disputed question of fact may still sue.