Source: http://sbn-caselaw.blogspot.com/2012/05/specific-performance-suit-escalation-of.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 18:14:11+00:00

Document:
TRIAL COURT FINDINGS:- In this case, the trial Court declined the relief of specific performance by observing that the price of the land had considerably increased and it would be unfair to compel the appellant to execute the sale deed at the rate agreed to by the parties. For arriving at this conclusion, the trial Court relied upon the judgments of this Court in Sargunam (Dead) by L.R. v. Chidambaram (2005) 1 SCC 162 and Janardhanam Prasad v. Ramdas (2007) 15 SCC 174 and of the Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Mohan Singh v. Kulwinder Singh 2006 (2) P.L.J. 748 and of the Allahabad High Court in Ramawati Devi v. Idris Ahmad 2008 (2) Civil Court Cases 332. The trial Court finally held that the respondent is entitled to refund of the earnest money with interest at the rate of 12% per annum.
LOWER APPELLATE COURT FINDINGS:- The respondent challenged the judgment and decree of the trial Court by filing an appeal. The appellant and his father did not file appeal or cross objection to challenge the findings recorded by the trial Court on the issues of execution of the agreement and readiness and willingness on the respondent’s part to perform its part of the agreement. The lower appellate Court independently analysed the pleadings and evidence of the parties and agreed with the trial Court that the respondent had succeeded in proving execution of the agreement and its readiness and willingness to pay the balance amount and perform its part of the obligation. ..... The lower appellate Court disagreed with the trial Court that the respondent is not entitled to decree of specific performance because cost of the suit property had increased and observed that there was no justification to relieve the appellant of his obligation to execute the sale deed in terms of the agreement.
HIGH COURT SECOND APPELLATE COURT :- The second appeal filed by the appellant was dismissed by the learned Single Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court who concurred with the lower appellate Court that the trial Court was not justified in invoking the provisions of Section 20 (2) (c) of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 (for short, ‘the Act’) for the purpose of declining substantive relief to the respondent. The learned Single Judge relied upon the judgments of this Court in K. Narendra v. Riviera Apartments (P) Ltd. (1999) 5 SCC 77, Sargunam (Dead) by LRs. v. Chidambaram (supra) 1 SCC 162 and Gobind Ram v. Gian Chand 2000 (7) SCC 548, and held that inadequacy of consideration or the fact that the contract is onerous to the defendant is not sufficient to deny the relief of specific performance.
In the present case, the appellant had neither pleaded hardship nor produced any evidence to show that it will be inequitable to order specific performance of the agreement.

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