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Biswanath Ghosh through Legal Representatives v. Gobinda Ghosh

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 3672 of 2007)Decided 14 Mar 2014
Civil Appeal No. 3672 of 2007
Justice J.S. Khehar · Justice M.Y. Eqbal

Background

Property owners transferred land when obtaining Rs. 3,000 and secured a same-day agreement for its return on repayment. After correspondence extending the proposed reconveyance time, they sued and amended their claim under an appellate remand; the lower courts ordered performance, but the High Court rejected it on pleading and limitation grounds.

Decision Breakdown

The Court allowed the appeal and restored the decree requiring reconveyance. The authorised amendment related back to the original suit, and the High Court had also departed from the required second-appeal procedure. The owners' notices offering payment, acceptance of the agreed timing and deposit under the trial court's direction demonstrated continuing readiness and willingness to perform. Compliance with that requirement was judged from the pleadings and conduct as a whole, rather than the absence of a rigid formula of words.

Lesson Learnt

Keep written offers, replies and proof of funds when seeking enforcement of a property agreement; they can establish readiness to perform more clearly than a stock phrase in a pleading.

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

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