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Rathnavathi v. Kavita Ganashamdas

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal Nos. 9949-9950 of 2014)Decided 29 Oct 2014
Civil Appeal Nos. 9949-9950 of 2014
Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla · Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre

Background

A buyer agreed to purchase a Bangalore house in 1989 and claimed to have paid the entire price and received possession. She filed an injunction suit after threats of dispossession and then a suit to enforce the sale agreement. The seller and subsequent purchaser argued that the second suit was barred by the earlier suit and by limitation.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decrees for specific performance and injunction. The threatened dispossession and failure to perform the sale agreement supplied different causes of action, so Order II Rule 2 did not bar the second suit. Since this agreement fixed no performance date, limitation ran from notice of refusal, and the suit was timely on the facts found. The buyer had to pay the additional Rs.4 lakh required by the unchallenged High Court direction, and the seller and subsequent purchaser had to join in the conveyance. Using Article 142, the Court also directed the seller to refund Rs.4 lakh to the subsequent purchaser within three months after conveyance, with the specified interest consequence for default.

Lesson Learnt

An earlier injunction suit does not automatically prevent a later suit to enforce a sale agreement: the causes of action must be compared. A buyer must also prove timely filing and performance or continuing readiness to perform; these findings depend on the agreement and evidence.

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

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