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Dr. Amit Arya vs. Kamlesh Kumari

Not available · 2025 INSC 1486Decided 19 Dec 2025
Not available
Justice Sanjay Karol · Justice Manoj Misra

Background

The parties entered into an agreement to sell a plot of land in Panchkula in 2004. When the sale did not go through, the buyer (appellant) sued for specific performance, and the Trial Court decreed the suit in his favour, directing execution of the sale deed within two months upon payment of the balance sale price. After a First Appeal went against him, a Second Appeal restored the decree in the buyer's favour. When the buyer sought execution of the decree, he had filed the execution application and deposited the balance money somewhat beyond the two-month window, and the seller objected that the decree had lapsed. The trial-level Executing Court dismissed these objections, but the Punjab & Haryana High Court, in revision, accepted them and dismissed the execution petition.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that non-payment within the exact time fixed by a decree does not automatically amount to abandonment of the contract or rescission of the decree. Courts should avoid a hyper-technical approach and instead examine whether the buyer's conduct amounted to an outright refusal to perform. The Court also applied the "doctrine of merger," holding that once the Trial Court's decree was affirmed on second appeal, only the appellate decree survived, so a rigid reading of the original two-month deadline was misplaced. Since the courts below had found the buyer ready and willing to perform, a delay of about 27 days in completing formalities was not fatal. The Court set aside the High Court's judgment and restored the Executing Court's order, directing execution of the sale deed to proceed.

Lesson Learnt

In property sale-agreement disputes, courts look at the substance of a buyer's genuine readiness and willingness to complete the deal rather than mechanically enforcing a missed deadline by a few weeks: minor delays in depositing sale consideration do not automatically kill a court-ordered sale unless they show a real refusal to go through with the transaction.

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

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