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Legal Case Shots

Court judgements broken down into the case type, how the decision played out, and the lesson worth remembering, with the full judgement available as a PDF.

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What is Legal Case Shots?+

Legal Case Shots is a searchable database of Supreme Court of India judgments, each broken down into the case type, the court's key holding, and a practical lesson learnt, with the full judgment available as a PDF for citation or deeper reading.

Civil Property & InheritanceSupreme Court of India

Basavaraj vs. Padmavathi & Anr.

Civil Appeal · 2023 INSC 19Decided 5 Jan 2023
Civil Appeal Nos. 8962-8963 of 2022
M.R. Shah · B.V. Nagarathna · C.T. Ravikumar as the second judge

Background

On 13 March 2007 the seller (Padmavathi) agreed to sell land in Karnataka to the buyer (Basavaraj) for Rs. 12,74,000, receiving Rs. 3 lakh as earnest money and issuing a receipt; the sale deed was to be executed by 31 July 2007. When the seller did not execute the deed, the buyer sent a legal notice in November 2007 offering the balance, but the seller replied denying that any agreement existed. The buyer sued for specific performance in 2008; the trial court believed his case, found he was ready and willing to perform, and decreed the suit in September 2011, after which the buyer deposited the balance Rs. 9,74,000 in court within a month. The Karnataka High Court (Kalaburagi Bench) reversed in 2020, holding the buyer had not proved he had the funds because he produced no passbook or bank accounts, and dismissed his review petition in 2021.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the buyer's appeals and restored the trial court's decree. It found ample evidence of readiness and willingness: the plaint and legal notice both asserted it; the buyer testified (uncontradicted in cross-examination) that he approached the seller with the balance money in June and July 2007; the two attesting witnesses confirmed this; the seller herself eventually admitted signing the agreement and receiving Rs. 3 lakh; and the buyer deposited the full balance within a month of the decree. Relying on Ramrati Kuer vs. Dwarika Prasad Singh (1967) and Indira Kaur vs. Sheo Lal Kapoor (1988), the Court held that no adverse inference can be drawn from a buyer's failure to produce a passbook or bank records unless the other side or the court had actually called for them, which never happened here. The High Court therefore erred in reversing the trial court's findings. To do complete justice, the Court directed the buyer to pay a further Rs. 10 lakh within eight weeks, on which the seller must execute the sale deed within two weeks and may withdraw the Rs. 9,74,000 already deposited with interest.

Lesson Learnt

A buyer seeking specific performance must show they were ready and willing to pay, but a court cannot presume they lacked the money simply because they did not volunteer bank statements: an adverse inference arises only if they were asked to produce them and refused. Sellers who sign an agreement and take earnest money cannot escape by simply denying the deal.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)
Basavaraj vs. Padmavathi & Anr. – Legal Case Shots | LegalAware