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Ravi Setia v. Madan Lal

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 1124Decided 4 Oct 2019
Civil Appeal No. 2837 of 2011
Justice Navin Sinha · Justice Indira Banerjee

Background

The plaintiff entered into a 1989 agreement to buy a two-thirds share of land, paying earnest money with the balance due on execution of the sale deed by April 1990. After the sellers failed to appear for registration, the plaintiff sued for specific performance and won in both the trial court and first appellate court, but the High Court reversed this in second appeal, finding the plaintiff had not proved he was ready and willing to pay the balance price. The sellers had, during the litigation, sold the land to other buyers.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that a plaintiff seeking specific performance under Section 16(c) of the Specific Relief Act must continuously demonstrate genuine readiness and willingness to perform his own obligations, not merely file the suit on time. It found the plaintiff's claimed presence before the Sub-Registrar was unsubstantiated, he ignored the sellers' registered notices fixing a new execution date, and, most tellingly, he let the court-ordered deadline to deposit the balance consideration lapse without explanation, only seeking an extension after it expired, on the flimsy ground that the money would otherwise sit in a bank without interest. The Court agreed with the High Court that this conduct showed a lack of real readiness and willingness, and dismissed the appeal, though it directed the earnest money be refunded to the plaintiff.

Lesson Learnt

In a suit for specific performance of a property sale agreement, simply filing on time is not enough: a buyer must show through consistent, provable conduct (showing up, paying on time, responding to notices) that they were genuinely ready and able to pay, or the claim will fail even after years of litigation.

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

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