Interim order
Also called: Stay order, Stay on operation · Topic: Judiciary: Independence, Structure, Judicial Review and Activism · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
An interim order is a temporary order a court gives while a case is still going on. It keeps things fair until the court can hear the case fully and decide. The most common kind is a stay order, which stops a law, rule or action from working for the time being. An interim order does not decide whether the law is valid. That question is settled only in the final judgment. Courts give such orders while hearing writ petitions under Art. 32 (Supreme Court) or Art. 226 (High Courts), often to prevent harm that could not be undone later.
Example
In January 2026, the Supreme Court stayed the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026. It said the rules looked, at first sight, "too sweeping" and vague. So the rules could not be used while the case went on. To avoid a gap, the Court ordered the older UGC Regulations, 2012 to stay in force in the meantime.
Don't confuse with
- Striking down (a final judgment): when a court strikes down a law through judicial review, it declares the law void for good. A stay only pauses the law, and the court may later uphold it or strike it down.
- Withdrawal of a law or rule: the government or regulator itself takes the rule back. A stay is the court's decision, and the rule still exists on paper.