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C.S. Venkatesh v. A.S.C. Murthy (D) by LRs. & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2020 INSC 143Decided 7 Feb 2020
Civil Appeal No. 8425 of 2009
Justice S. Abdul Nazeer · Justice Deepak Gupta

Background

A plaintiff had executed a sale deed in favour of the defendants in 1975, which he claimed was really a security arrangement for a loan of Rs. 29,000, backed by a separate agreement for the defendants to reconvey the property once repaid. The trial court dismissed his suit for specific performance, finding he hadn't proven he was ready and willing to pay the money back, but the Karnataka High Court reversed this and ordered the defendants to reconvey the property. The defendant appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the sale deed's own clear and unambiguous language showed an outright, absolute sale rather than a security transaction, and that the existence of a separate reconveyance deed did not change this. More importantly, it held that the plaintiff had never proven "continuous readiness and willingness" to pay the reconveyance price, as required under Section 16(c) of the Specific Relief Act: he had pleaded he had no income, business, or property at all, undermining any claim he could actually raise the funds. The Court restored the trial court's dismissal of the suit and set aside the High Court's judgment.

Lesson Learnt

In a suit for specific performance, simply asking the court for the relief is not enough: a plaintiff must affirmatively prove, through conduct and evidence (not just a bare plea), that they always had the genuine financial ability and willingness to pay their side of the bargain.

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

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