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Weighing your request
Quick Answer
Stay orders are sought to prevent irreversible harm pending substantive adjudication. Stay of execution under Order XLI Rule 5 CPC suspends execution of a decree pending appeal. Stay of operation of an order under Section 482 BNSS / Article 226 prevents the order's effect during writ-petition pendency. Stay of construction in property suits prevents alienation or further development. Stay is discretionary; courts apply the standard three-fold test (prima facie case, balance of convenience, irreparable injury). Conditions (security, undertaking) are routinely imposed.
Statutory reference
Order XLI Rule 5 CPC
A stay is never automatic — it is asked for, argued, and usually conditioned. Filing an appeal does not by itself stop execution of the decree below: a separate application under Order XLI Rule 5 CPC is needed, and courts routinely condition the stay on depositing all or part of the decretal amount, so the winner below is protected while the appeal runs. In writ and quashing practice, the interim stay of the impugned order or of coercive steps is often the petition's real objective on day one. Statutes increasingly build the condition into the stay itself — a builder appealing a RERA refund order, for instance, must first deposit the amount under Section 43(5) RERA. An ex parte stay lasts only until the returnable date, breach of a stay is contempt, and the other side can always apply to vacate — so a stay is a position to be defended, not a result.
Worked example
A Delhi landlord wins a ₹22 lakh money decree against a former commercial tenant, who files a first appeal on day 28. The appeal alone changes nothing — execution can proceed — so the tenant also files an Order XLI Rule 5 stay application. The appellate court grants the stay on the condition that half the decretal amount be deposited in court within four weeks, failing which the stay dissolves. The tenant deposits; execution is suspended for the life of the appeal, while the landlord knows ₹11 lakh sits secured in court whatever the outcome. Both sides got what a stay is actually designed to deliver: preserved positions, not free time.
Related practice areas
Court order temporarily suspending operation of a lower court's decree, an authority's action, or a particular activity. May be interim (during pendency) or absolute (final).
Stay Order is governed by Order XLI Rule 5 CPC. Stay orders are sought to prevent irreversible harm pending substantive adjudication. Stay of execution under Order XLI Rule 5 CPC suspends execution of a decree pending appeal. Stay of operation of an order under Section 482 BNSS / Article 226 prevents the order's effect during writ-petition pendency. Stay of construction in property suits prevents alienation or further development. Stay is discretionary; courts apply the standard three-fold test (prima facie case, balance of convenience, irreparable injury). Conditions (security, undertaking) are routinely imposed.
Stay Order falls under Civil Law. NyaySevak matches you with a Bar-Council-verified advocate in the relevant practice area — your first step is a free case assessment with no obligation.
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