Specific Relief Act 1963
8 articles
A Registered Power of Attorney, Once Exercised, Cannot Be Undone by Its Own Later Cancellation: Madras High Court on Sections 200–202 of the Contract Act
In C.Rajendran v. P. Arumugam, the Madras High Court held that an agreement of sale executed by a registered power-of-attorney agent binds the principal so long as the power was valid and unrevoked at the time of the agreement, rejecting the principals' argument that a subsequent cancellation of the power, and a disputed reading of its acreage, could defeat a decree for specific performance.
13 min readAn Unreplied Legal Notice and a Wrongly Dated Stamp Paper: Kerala High Court Affirms a Specific Performance Decree
In Francis @ Kuruvila v. N.T. Joseph, the Kerala High Court upheld a trial court's decree for specific performance of a 2007 agreement to sell 56.5 cents of land, rejecting the defendant's claim that the agreement was fabricated from blank stamp papers he had handed over for an unrelated 2002 loan — a claim undone by his own admitted signature on a later payment endorsement, an unanswered legal notice, and a stamp paper that was, on the record, purchased only in 2007.
13 min readSupreme Court: A Second Appeal Cannot Trade an Upheld Specific Performance Decree for Cash
In Sobaran Singh v. Gordhan Singh, the Supreme Court reversed a High Court order that had upheld a trial court's findings on a decades-old specific performance suit, yet substituted the decreed sale with a large cash payment 'to maintain equity.' The Court restored the original 1979 decree, holding that once the buyer's readiness and willingness stood affirmed and the sale had already been executed through the court in 1979, there was no discretionary room left to convert the transaction into compensation four and a half decades later, particularly where the buyer had been in continuous possession throughout.
13 min readEarnest Money Forfeited, Part-Payment Refunded: Delhi High Court Draws the Line in a Failed Agreement to Sell
A buyer paid Rs. 17.5 lakh under an Agreement to Sell, then defaulted. The seller kept it all. The Delhi High Court had to work out how much of that money was truly earnest money — and how much was simply price paid too early.
14 min readRegistered Deeds Are Not Unwound by Afterthought: Gujarat High Court on Part-Payment, Fraud Pleadings and the Fragmentation Act
A seller who takes the cheques, signs the register, and only later complains that the office computer was slow has an uphill pleading burden. This case note works through the Gujarat High Court's reasoning on registered sale deeds, consideration, non est factum and the Fragmentation Act.
13 min readNo Money for Trespass: Himachal Pradesh High Court on Demolition as the Only Remedy for Encroachment, and Why a Second Adverse Possession Plea Failed
A land dispute that had already been to the Himachal Pradesh High Court once returned nearly two decades later, this time asking whether a proven encroacher could keep his house by paying compensation instead, and whether an adverse possession plea already rejected once could be tried again. The Court's answers turn on two doctrines every property litigator should have ready: the remedy for trespass, and the limits issue estoppel places on repeat litigation.
13 min readSpecific Performance When Litigation Drags On and Property Prices Rise: Should the Buyer Still Get the Decree?
Price escalation alone is not a defence. Buyer-caused delay is. This guide explains how Indian courts separate the two, and how a decree can be moulded to balance equities.
14 min readHe Who Seeks Equity Must Do Equity: V.N.A.S. Chandran v. S. Venila on Conduct, Delay and Discretion in Specific Performance
The buyers may well have been able to pay. They still lost the property. This case note examines how inconsistent conduct, a retaliatory FIR and two decades of delay defeated a decree of specific performance.
14 min read