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Anand Narayan Shukla v. Jagat Dhari

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 463Decided 8 May 2026
C.A. No.-007355-007355 - 2026
Justice Manoj Misra · Justice Manmohan

Background

The appellant won a suit for specific performance of a 2011 agreement to sell 3.75 acres of land, with the trial court in 2017 directing him to pay the balance sale consideration (Rs. 57.5 lakh) within one month, either to the seller or by depositing it in court. The seller refused to accept the amount and separately appealed the decree, and over several years the Execution Court repeatedly issued confusing and contradictory orders: sometimes directing payment to the seller (who was unwilling to accept it) and only belatedly, years later, directing deposit in court, with delays compounded by the COVID-19 lockdown. When the buyer eventually deposited the money in 2020, the Execution Court dismissed his execution application anyway, holding the decree could not be enforced because the original one-month deadline had long passed; the High Court affirmed this in revision.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that a decree for specific performance is not automatically rescinded merely because a court-fixed deadline for payment is missed, especially where the decree itself did not specify consequences for delay. Under Section 28 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, the court retains discretion to either rescind the contract or extend the time for deposit, balancing equities and potentially compensating the other party for delay, but this determination requires proper consideration of the facts, including who caused the delay. The Court found that both the Execution Court and the High Court failed to examine why the delay occurred (much of it caused by the Execution Court's own contradictory orders and the seller's refusal to accept payment) and mechanically treated the missed deadline as fatal. It therefore set aside both orders and remanded the matter to the Execution Court for fresh consideration in light of these principles.

Lesson Learnt

Missing a court-fixed payment deadline in a specific performance decree does not automatically kill the decree. Courts must exercise discretion under Section 28 of the Specific Relief Act by examining who was actually responsible for the delay before deciding whether to rescind the contract or grant more time.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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