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Leeladhar (D) Thr. LRs. v. Vijay Kumar (D) Thr. LRs.

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 1085Decided 26 Sept 2019
Civil Appeal No. 7282 of 2009
Justice Deepak Gupta · Justice Aniruddha Bose

Background

In 1985, Leeladhar agreed to sell 18 bighas of land for Rs. 40,000 to Deshraj, receiving the full sale consideration in two installments and handing over possession, with the agreement duly registered. When Deshraj's legal heirs later sought to get the sale deed executed, Leeladhar failed to appear, leading to a suit for specific performance. Leeladhar defended by claiming the agreement was a sham document created merely to secure an unlicensed moneylending transaction, and that he had already repaid the "loan" with interest.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court noted that the courts below, after a remand for fresh consideration under Section 20(2)(c) of the Specific Relief Act, had concurrently found as a fact that the document was a genuine agreement to sell and not a sham loan-security document, and that the documents Leeladhar relied on to prove repayment were only copies, undermining his claim. The Court held there was no delay in filing the suit and that the plaintiffs' possession of the land (unhurried to get the deed executed) did not disentitle them to relief. Since the agreement was genuine and full consideration had already been paid, Leeladhar could not invoke Section 20(2)(c) to resist specific performance, and the appeal was dismissed, affirming the decree of specific performance in favour of the respondents.

Lesson Learnt

Once courts find a sale agreement to be genuine and consideration has already been fully paid and possession transferred, a seller cannot later escape the agreement by claiming hardship or unfairness under the discretionary bar on specific performance.

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

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