Mesne profits
Also called: Profits of wrongful possession
Profits that a person in wrongful possession of property actually received or might with ordinary diligence have received, with interest, but excluding profits due to his own improvements. Section 2(12) CPC.
Explained
Section 2(12) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 defines mesne profits of property as those profits which the person in wrongful possession of such property actually received or might with ordinary diligence have received from it, together with interest on such profits, but not including profits due to improvements made by the person in wrongful possession. Mesne profits compensate the person entitled to possession for being kept out of it.
Three features of the definition are tested. First, the measure is what the wrongdoer received or could have received with ordinary diligence, not what the owner lost, so a trespasser who leaves land idle is still liable for what it could have yielded. Second, interest on the profits forms part of mesne profits. Third, profits attributable to improvements made by the wrongful possessor are excluded. The liability rests on wrongful possession, so a person whose possession is lawful, such as a tenant during the subsistence of the lease, is liable for rent and not mesne profits.
Order XX Rule 12 CPC governs the decree. In a suit for possession of immovable property and for rent or mesne profits, the Court may decree possession, decree mesne profits for the period before the suit or direct an inquiry into them, and direct an inquiry into mesne profits from the institution of the suit until delivery of possession, relinquishment of possession with notice through the Court, or the expiry of three years from the date of the decree, whichever occurs first. A final decree follows the inquiry, which makes such a suit one where a preliminary and a final decree may be passed. Order II Rule 4 allows a claim for mesne profits to be joined with a claim for recovery of immovable property without leave, and Order VII Rule 2 allows the plaint to state the amount approximately instead of precisely.
Mesne profits also arise in restitution under Section 144 CPC, where the Court may order payment of mesne profits consequential on the reversal or variation of a decree. Examiners ask about the three year cap on future mesne profits and whether profits from improvements are included.
What the law says
(12) “mesne profits” of property means those profits which the person in wrongful possession of such property actually received or might with ordinary diligence have received therefrom, together with interest on such profits, but shall not include profits due to improvements made by the person in wrongful possession;
Section 2(12) defines mesne profits
(1) Where a suit is for the recovery of possession of immovable property and for rent or mesne profits, the Court may pass a decree—
(a) for the possession of the property;
[(b) for the rents which have accrued on the property during the period prior to the institution of the suit or directing an inquiry as to such rent.
Decree for possession and past and future mesne profits
(1) Where and in so far as a decree [or an order] is [varied or reversed in any appeal, revision or other proceeding or is set aside or modified in any suit instituted for the purpose, the Court which passed the decree or order] shall, on the application of any party entitled to any benefit by way of restitution or otherwise, cause such restitution to be made as will, so far as may be, place the parties in the position which they would have occupied but for such decree [or order] or [such part thereof as has been varied, reversed, set aside or modified]; and for this purpose, the Court may make any orders, including orders for the refund of costs and for the payment of interest, damages, compensation and mesne profits, which are properly [consequential on such variation, reversal, setting aside or modification of the decree or order].
[Explanation.—For the purposes of sub-section (1), the expression “Court which passed the decree or order” shall be deemed to include,—
(a) where the decree or order has been varied or reversed in exercise of appellate or revisional jurisdiction, the Court of first instance;
Mesne profits in restitution after reversal of a decree
(a) claims for mesne profits or arrears of rent in respect of the property claimed or any part thereof;
(b) claims for damages for breach of any contract under which the property or any part thereof is held; and
(c) claims in which the relief sought is based on the same cause of action:
Claim for mesne profits may be joined with a suit for immovable property
But where the plaintiff sues for mesne profits, or for an amount which will be found due to him on taking unsettled accounts between him and the defendant, [or for movables in the possession of the defendant, or for debts of which the value he cannot, after the exercise of reasonable diligence, estimate, the plaint shall state approximately the amount or value sued for.]
Plaint need not state the precise amount of mesne profits
Example
For example, B wrongfully occupies A's shop, which could fetch Rs 20,000 a month, but keeps it closed. A may recover mesne profits at the rate the shop could have earned with ordinary diligence, with interest, though B received nothing.
For the exam
- Defined in Section 2(12) CPC; includes interest on the profits.
- Measured by what the wrongdoer received or might with ordinary diligence have received.
- Profits due to improvements by the person in wrongful possession are excluded.
- Future mesne profits under Order XX Rule 12 run at most three years from the date of the decree.
- Restitution under Section 144 CPC may include mesne profits.
120 questions in the Law Maker question bank use this term. Practise Civil Procedure Code questions
Related terms
- Immovable propertyLand, benefits to arise out of land, and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth. Defined inclusively in Section 3(26) of the General Clauses Act, 1897.
- DecreeThe formal expression of an adjudication that conclusively determines the rights of the parties on all or any matter in controversy in a suit, as defined in Section 2(2) of the CPC.
- Decree-holderAny person in whose favour a decree has been passed or an order capable of execution has been made (Section 2(3) of the CPC).
- Judgment-debtorAny person against whom a decree has been passed or an order capable of execution has been made (Section 2(10) of the CPC).
- LeaseA transfer of a right to enjoy immovable property for a certain time, or in perpetuity, in consideration of a premium or rent (Section 105 of the Transfer of Property Act).
Further reading
Checked 6 November 2026. Statutory text is quoted from the Bare Acts library, taken from India Code. See the full glossary.