# R. C. CHANDIOK & ANR v. CHUNI LAi SABHARWAL & ORS

- **Citation:** [1971] 2 S.C.R. 573
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1970-10-12
- **Bench:** C. Shah, A. N. Grover
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/r-c-chandiok-anr-v-chuni-lai-sabharwal-ors-5186
- **Pages:** 10

## Headnote

Specific Performance-Suit for by vendee-Vendors's title not perfect
on date of contract and prior sanction of Government necessary.for saleWhether v•ndor could claim that vendee has not performed hir part with·
out perfecting his title and obtaining sanction-Decree of trial court only
directjng return of the part of purchase money paid by vendee-Vendor
depositing money in court-If vendee precluded from filing an appeal for
specific performance.
The respondents, who had been allotted a plot by .the Rehabilitation'.
Ministry agreed to sell it to the appellants and received a part of the purchase money. ·On the date of the contract the respondents' title was not
perfect as the lease deed in their favour had not been executed l:IY
the
Governtnent nor did the respondents obtain ·the sanction of the Ministry
which was necessary for transferring the elot. Therefore, the period for
execu.tion of the sale-deed was extended ttll after receipt of the sanction.
But the sanction was ·applied for more than a year later. Meanwhile, the
respondents wrote to the appellants . stating thU it was uncertain as
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when the sanction would be-granted, that therefore tho agreement had
become void on account of uncertainty, but that they. were willing· to have
the sale,deed registered on payment by the appellants of the balance with·
out waiting for the sanction.
Appreoonding that the respondents were
trying to disR.._ose of too plot to someone else the appellants informed pros:
pective buyers about the agreement in their favour. They also wrote. to
the respondents declaring their readiness
and willingness to pay .the
balance of the purchase price on the respondents procuring the sanction,
Thereafter, the sanction was granted, but the respondents never in'formod
the appellants; but coming to know about it the appellants filed a cuit
claiming specific performance of the contract.
The trial court held that the respondents, by their letters made time
the essence of the contract and refused to decree specific performance,
but granted a decree for refund of the amount paid. Therea'fter,
too
appellants applied to the trial court for an injunction restraining. the respondents from disposing of the11,rcperty, but the injunction was not grant·
~ and t~e plot was sol~ to a thrrd party, The .appellants filed an appeal
in the High Court against the decree of the tnal. court refusing specific
performance, and during the pendency rlf the appeal, the amotmt decreed
by the trial court was· deposited by the respondents, but the ·appellants· did
n'?I withdraw the amount. The High Court confirmed the· decree of the
trial court and also held that once the appellants obtainod satisfaction of
the decree for the amount paid by them, they became disentitled to
a
decree for specific performance.
In appeal to this Court,
HELD : (I) There 'kas no question of time having been made the
~sence ,of the contract by the letters sent by the respondents; nor could
1t be s~td th.at. the appellants had 'fail-.d to perform their part of the
agreement wtthtn a reasonable time. [579 E]
574
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1971] 2 S.C.R.
As long as the title of the respondents was incomplete anJ sanction
for sale was not obtained there ·was no question of completing the sale.
Also, after the sanction was given, the reSpondent3 did not inform
the
appellants so as to enable them 'to p~rform their part of the agreement.
[578 E-F; ,579 D-E]
(2) There was nothing to indicate that the appellants were not ready
and willing to perform their part of the contraet.
Readiness and willingness must _be determined !from the entirety of the facts and circumstances
relating to the intention .and conduct of the party concerned.
In the present case, the facts that the appellar.ts informed prospective buyers about
the existence of the agreement in' their
fa,·our, that they wrote to
the
respondents declaring their readiness and willingness to pay the balance as
soon as the sanction was obtained, and that they promptly fil

## Text

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573
R. C. CHANDIOK & ANR.
v.
CHUNI LAi SABHARWAL & ORS.
October 12, 1970
[J, C. SHAH AND A. N. GROVER, JJ.)
Specific Performance-Suit for by vendee-Vendors's title not perfect
on date of contract and prior sanction of Government necessary.for saleWhether v•ndor could claim that vendee has not performed hir part with·
out perfecting his title and obtaining sanction-Decree of trial court only
directjng return of the part of purchase money paid by vendee-Vendor
depositing money in court-If vendee precluded from filing an appeal for
specific performance.
The respondents, who had been allotted a plot by .the Rehabilitation'.
Ministry agreed to sell it to the appellants and received a part of the purchase money. ·On the date of the contract the respondents' title was not
perfect as the lease deed in their favour had not been executed l:IY
the
Governtnent nor did the respondents obtain ·the sanction of the Ministry
which was necessary for transferring the elot. Therefore, the period for
execu.tion of the sale-deed was extended ttll after receipt of the sanction.
But the sanction was ·applied for more than a year later. Meanwhile, the
respondents wrote to the appellants . stating thU it was uncertain as
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when the sanction would be-granted, that therefore tho agreement had
become void on account of uncertainty, but that they. were willing· to have
the sale,deed registered on payment by the appellants of the balance with·
out waiting for the sanction.
Appreoonding that the respondents were
trying to disR.._ose of too plot to someone else the appellants informed pros:
pective buyers about the agreement in their favour. They also wrote. to
the respondents declaring their readiness
and willingness to pay .the
balance of the purchase price on the respondents procuring the sanction,
Thereafter, the sanction was granted, but the respondents never in'formod
the appellants; but coming to know about it the appellants filed a cuit
claiming specific performance of the contract.
The trial court held that the respondents, by their letters made time
the essence of the contract and refused to decree specific performance,
but granted a decree for refund of the amount paid. Therea'fter,
too
appellants applied to the trial court for an injunction restraining. the respondents from disposing of the11,rcperty, but the injunction was not grant·
~ and t~e plot was sol~ to a thrrd party, The .appellants filed an appeal
in the High Court against the decree of the tnal. court refusing specific
performance, and during the pendency rlf the appeal, the amotmt decreed
by the trial court was· deposited by the respondents, but the ·appellants· did
n'?I withdraw the amount. The High Court confirmed the· decree of the
trial court and also held that once the appellants obtainod satisfaction of
the decree for the amount paid by them, they became disentitled to
a
decree for specific performance.
In appeal to this Court,
HELD : (I) There 'kas no question of time having been made the
~sence ,of the contract by the letters sent by the respondents; nor could
1t be s~td th.at. the appellants had 'fail-.d to perform their part of the
agreement wtthtn a reasonable time. [579 E]
574
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1971] 2 S.C.R.
As long as the title of the respondents was incomplete anJ sanction
for sale was not obtained there ·was no question of completing the sale.
Also, after the sanction was given, the reSpondent3 did not inform
the
appellants so as to enable them 'to p~rform their part of the agreement.
[578 E-F; ,579 D-E]
(2) There was nothing to indicate that the appellants were not ready
and willing to perform their part of the contraet.
Readiness and willingness must _be determined !from the entirety of the facts and circumstances
relating to the intention .and conduct of the party concerned.
In the present case, the facts that the appellar.ts informed prospective buyers about
the existence of the agreement in' their
fa,·our, that they wrote to
the
respondents declaring their readiness and willingness to pay the balance as
soon as the sanction was obtained, and that they promptly filed the suit,
showed their .keenness and readiness.
The appellants
were carrying on
business and were in a position to arrange for th.e balance of the p1•rchase
money.
It was neither necessary nor incumbent on them to senu
any
draft conveyance after the
respondents had cancelled the
agroemcnt.
L579 H; 580 B-C]
(3) In the. present case, the rule that the appellants could not accept
satisfaction of the decree of the trial court and yet prefer an appeal against
that decree cannot apply, because. the appellants had by ccnsistent and
unequivocal conduct by applying for inunction and pro.1ecuting the appeal
in the High Court made it clear that they were not 'l'illing to accept the
judgment· of the trial, court as correct.
The grant
of relief of specific
performance is discretionary
but the discretion
must
be exercised in
accordance with judicial principles and not arbitrarily. It could not he
held tliat the conduct of the appellants was such that it precluded them
from obtaining a decree for specific performance. [581 F-H; -581 A-Bl
Ot was directed that the subsequent transferee should join in the conveyance so )IS to pass on the title which resides in him to the appellants.]
[582 B-C]
Lal Durga Prasad v. Lala Deep Chand, ,[,1954] S.C.R. 360.
referred
to.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 1776 a.f
1966.
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Appeal by special leave from the judgment and decrcz dated
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December 22, 1964 of the Punjab High Court, Circuit Bench at
R.F.A. No. 37-D of 1959.
Bishan Narain and B. P. Maheshwari, for the appellant.
N. N. Keswani, for respondent No. 2.
C. B. Agarwala and Urmi/a Kapoor, for respondent No. 3.
The Judgment of· the Colll't was delivered by
Grover, J,
This is an appeal by special leave from a decree
of the Punjab High Court (Circuit Bench, Delhi).
On July 18, 1955, the appellants entered into an agreement
with the. respondent&.,for the purchase of plot No. 8 measuring
1500 Sq. Yds in Jangpura B, New Delhi for Rs. 22,500/-. The
contract was evidenced by receipt Exhibit P-6 which was in the
following terms :
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R. c. CHAND!OK v. CHUN! LAL (Grover, J.)
575
"Received with thanks from Messrs. Ramesh Chander
Chandiok and Kai!ash Chandra Chandiok the sum of
Rs. 7,500/- (Rupees Seven thousand and five hundred
only) as earnest money of the purchase money
of
Rs. 22,500/- (Rupees Twenty two thousand and five
hundred) for the sale of Plot No. 8 measuring 1500 sq.
yds in Jangpura B., purchased from the Rehabilitation
Ministry and owned by us. The balance of Rs. I 5,000
(Rupees Fifteen Thousand only) shall be paid to us by
them within one month of the execution of this receipt
on the execution of the sale deed by us in their favour."
It is common ground 11).at the aforesaid plot had been allott~d
by the Rehabilitation Ministry to the respondents and that its
possession was to be delivered after payment of rent of lease
money up-to-date and after execution of the lease deed.
The
lease deed was actually executed in favour of the respondents on
April 21, 1956.
Meanwhile on August 11, 1955 foe respon~
dents wrote a letter to the appellants as follows :
"With reference to the receipt dated 18-7-55 executed
by us
in
your
favour,
acknowledging receipt of
Rs. 7,500/- as earnest money for the sale of Plot No.
8 measuring I 500 sq. yds in Jungpura B. owned by us.
and agreed to be sold to you by us, since it will take
about a month more to obtain sanction of the Rehabilitation Ministry, the ex.ecution of the sale deed by us
cannot be complete without the said
sanction, it is
hereby mutually agreed between us or orally that the
period for execution of t11e sale deed shall remain extended till the time of the receipt of the said sanction
and we hereby confirm the said oral agreement. We will
inform you as soon as the said sanction is received
and within a week thereof, we will execute the necessary sale-deed in your favour and get the same registered against payment of the balance money.
Please
sign the duplicate of this letter in confirmation of the
said oral arrangement."
A notice dated June 15, 1956 was served by counsel for the respondents on the appellants saying that the balance of considera-·
lion accordin~ to the terms of the agreement dated July 18, 1955
was to be paid by the appellants and the sale deed was to be got
registered within one month of July 18, 1955.
It was further
stated that extension had been given as desired by the appellants
but the balance amount had not been paid.
In para 3 it was
stated "my clients are not prepared to wait indefinitely and therefore cancel your agreement for want of certa¥1ty and hereby giveyou an offer, without prejudice to their legal rights, to receive-
576
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1971] 2 &C.R.
.baek the sum of Rs. 7,500/- paid by you as earnest money les5
the amount of loss suffered by them on account· of lease and interest etc. within one ·week of the receipt of this letter, failing
which my clients would be entitled to forfeit the earnest money
.and treat the agreement cancelled."
A reply dated June 22, •1956 was sent by
counsel for the
.appellants in which reference was made to
the
letter dated
August 11, 1955 and it was pointed out that no information had
been sent by the respondents about the sanction
having been
-obtained from the Rehabilitation
Ministry.
The
respondents
w.ere called upon to obtain the requisite sanction and to execute
·the sale de~d against receipt of balance of purchase money. On
July 4, 1956 counsel for the respondents sent a reply saying that
sanction had not been granted till then and inquiries made by
respondents revealed that it might not be forthcoming for an
indefinite period and that it was absolutely uncertain as to when
it would be granted.
It was claimed that the
agreement had
become void on account of uncertainty and without prejudice to
their legal rights the respond~nts were prepared "ex gratia" to
have the sale deed registered on payment of the balance within a
week of the receipt of the letter without awaiting sanction of the
Rehabilitation Ministry.
On November 11, 1956 the respondents' are stated to have applied for sanction for transfer of the
plot and it was granted on November 20, 1956. The appellants
bad themselves made inquiries from the Housing and Rent Officer
·-On August 9, 1956 to ascertain whether sanction
had been
granted and how much time it would take to accord the sanction.
By a letter dated 27 /29th November 1956 the aforesaid officer
informed the appellants that permission to transfer had
been
given on November 20, 1956.
The appellants had also taken
~teps to inform other prospective buyers about.the existence of the
agreement as they apprehended that thci respondents
intended
transferring the same to some other party. On July 29, 1956 an
advertisement was published by them in the 'Times of
India'.
·declaring the ex·isience of the agreement entered into between the
appellants and th~ respondent.s with regard to the sale of the aforesaid plot. On December 4. 1956 the suit out of which the present appeal has. arisen was filed by the appellants claiming specific
performance of tbe contract dated July 18, 1955 and in the
alternative for refund of Rs. 7 ,500/- being the amount of earnest
money and Rs. 15,000/- as damages together with inierest.
Apart from taking all the necessi:ry pleas it was averred in
the plaint that the plaintiffs-appellants had always been ready and
"Willing to perform their part of the contract. The suit was conA
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tested by the defendants-respondents and among
the
mat~rial
issues which were framed by the trial court were. the followmg_:
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" ( 5) Whether the specific perfonnance of the
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agreement· in suit should be refused u/ s
21 or 22 9f the Specific Relief Act ?
Whether the plaintiffs were ready and
willing to perfonn their part of the contract?"
The admitted case of the parties was that according to the condiC
tions of the lease granted to the respondents, which had, however,
not been produced the transfer of the lease-hold rights could be
effecied only with the
sanction of the Rehabilitation Ministry.
The trial court was of the opinion that in spite of this condition
the respondents had a subsisting though defeasible interest in the
lease-hold rights which could very well be the subject matter of
sale. lt was held that the appellants did not perform the contract
for about 1 t years even though the respondents had repudiated
it much earlier.
Any party to the contract could subsequently
make time the essence of the contract by a reasonable notice and
this had been done by the respondents by Exhibits P-8 and P-12,
namely the letters dated June 15, 1955 and August 24, 1956.
Issue No. 5 was thus decided against the appellants.
On issue
No. 6 the trial court found that ihe appellants were noi ready and
willing to pay the balance of consideration in accordance with
the original agreement as they insisted on sanction of the Rehabilitation Ministry being obtained before the completion of sale
though no such condition existed in the.original contraci. However, a decree was granted to the appellants
in the sum of
Rs. 7 ,500 I - on the ground that the same constituted part paymeint
of consideration and was not liable to be forfeited.
On March.
31, 1959 the appellanis filed an application before the trial court
stating that they intended to prefer an app.eal against the dismissal
of the suit for specific performance but as the respondents were
!~ing !o dispose o~ the
plot they should be ~U:ained by an
m1unc!Jon from domg so.
It appears that no m1unction
was
granted by the court. An appeal was filed to the High Court and
during the pendency of the appeal, the amount of Rs. 7,500/-
was deposited by the respondents in satisfaction of the
decree·
passed by the trial court.
According to the respondents
th•
appellants had taken out execution of the decree and it was for
that rea~on thai the said amount was deposited. It was not, however, withdrawn by the appellants during the pend.ency of the
appeal.
The High Court found that both the respondents were bound
by the letter Exhibit P-7 dated August 11, 1955 to which reference
578
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1971] 2 S.C.R.
.has already been made.
It was noticed that sanction
of the
.Rehabilitation Ministry was required before the sale could be
completed but it was held that there was nothing to indicate that
the absence of such a sanction invalidated the transfer ab initio
.or rendered it void.
In agreement with the trial court the High
Court held that even a d.efeasible interest cou1d be the subject
.matter of sale; in other words the sale could be effected without
the sanction· having been previously obtained.
The view of the
High Court was that Exhibit P-7 did not contain any such language which would justify the importing of a condition that until
the respondents obtained sanction for the transfer of the property
the appellants were not bound to get the sale completed. It was
also decided that the appellants had not satisfactorily shown that
they had sufficient funds
to
pay
the · balance
amount of
Rs. 15,000/- from which it could be concluded that they were not
ready and willing to perform their part of the
contract.
Yet
another point was decided against the appellants on the basis o{
certain execution proceedings stated at the Bar to have been taken
during the pendency of the appeal. According to the High Court
once the appellants had obtained satisfaction of the decree for
Rs. 7,500/- they became disentitled to a decree for specific performance.
We are unable to concur with the reasoning or the conclusions of the High Court on the above maih points.
It is significant that the lease deed was not executed in favour of the respondents by the Government until April 21, 1956. So long as
their own title was incomplete there was no question of the sale
being completed.
It is- also undisputed that according to the
conditions of the lease the respondents were bound to obtain the
sanction of the Rehabilitation Ministry transferring the plot to
any one else.
The respondents were fully aware and conscious
·of this situation much earlier and that is the reasQn why ·on
August 11, 1955 it was agreed while extending the period for
execution of the sale. deed that the same shall be got executed
after receipt of the sanction. The sa!ement contained in Exhibit
P-7 that the execution of the sale deed "by us cannot be complete
without
the
said
sanction"
was
unqualified and unequivocal.
The respondents further undertook to inform the appellants as soon as sanction was received and thereafter the sale
1deed had to be executed withiJl; a week and got re~istered on payment of the balance amount of consideration.
We are wholly
unable to understand how in the presence of Exhibit P-7 it was
possible to hold that the appellants were bound to get the sale
completed even before any information was received from the
respondents about the sanction having been obtained. It is quite
obvious from the letter Exhibit P-8 dated June 15, 1956 that the
Tespondents were having second thoughts and wanted to wriggle
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out of the agreement because presumably they wanted to transfer
it for better consideration to some one else or to transfer it in
favour of their own relation as is stated to have been done later.
The respondents never appliea ·for any sanction aft11r August 11,
1955 and took up the position that they wiife not,JJrepared to
wait indefinitely in the matter and were therefore oi.acelling the
agreement "for want of certainty". We are completely at a loss
to understand this attitude Jk!r has any light been thrown on the
uncertainty contemplated fir the aforesaid letter.
It · does not
appear that there would have been any difficulty in obtaining the
sanction if the respondents had made any attempt lo obtain it.
This is obvious from the fact that when they actuaily applied for
sanction ein November 11, 1956 it was granted after a
week.
The statement contained in Exhibit P-10 dated July 4,
1956 that the sanction was not forthcoming has not been substantiated by any cogent evidence as no document was placed on
the record to show that any attempt was made to obtain sanction
prior to November 11, 1956. Be that as it may the respondents
could not call upon the appellants to complete the sale and pay
the balance money until the undertaking . given in Exhibit. p, 7
dated August 11, 1955 had be.en fulfilled by them. The sanction
was given in November, 1956 and even then the respondents did
not inform the appellants about it so as to enable them to perform their part of the agreement of sale. There was no question
of time having ever been made the essence of the contract by the
letters sent by the respondents nor could it be said that the appellants had failed to perform their part of the agreement within a
reasonable time.
On behalf of the respondents it has been urged that in spite
of the letters of the respondent by which the agreement had been
cancelled the appellants did not treat the agreement of sale as
having come to an end and kept it alive.
They were therefore
bound to send a draft of the conveyance and cail upon the respondents to execute the sale deed and get it registered on payment of
the balance of the sale price as soon as they c.ame t6 know directly
from the Housing and Rent Officer that sanction had been granted.
This they failed to do and it must be inferred that they were not
ready and willing to perform their part of the agreement. Our
attention has been invited to a statement in Halsbury's Laws of
England, Vol. 34, Third Edn. at page 338 that in the absenee of
agreement to the contrary it is the purchaser who has to prepare
the draft conveyance and submit it to the vendor for approval. No
such point was raised at any prior stage and in any case we do not
consider that after the cancellation of the agreement by the respondents it was necessary or incumbent on the appellants to !lend any
,draft conveyance. The very fact that they prompdy ~
die suit
580
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1971]2 S.C.R.
shows their keenness and readiness in the matter of acquiring the
plot by purchase. It must be remembered that the appellants had
not only put in an ndvertisement in newspapers ~bout the existence
of the agreement but had also sent a letter Exhibit P-13 on September 12, J 956 declaring their readiness and willingness to pay
the balance of the purchase price on the respondents procuring the
sanction. The appellants further made enquiries directly from the
authorities concerned about the sanction. Readiness and willingness· cannot be treat.ed as a straight jacket formula. These have to
be determined from the entirety of facts and circumstances relevant
to 1;1e intention and conduct of the party concerned. In our judgment there was nothing to indicate that the appeilants at any stage
were not ready and willing to perform their part of the contract.
The High Court had taken another aspect of readiness and willingness into consideration, namely, the possession of sufficient funds
by the appellants at the material time for payment of the balance of
the sale price. Ramesh Chand P.W.6 had stated that his father was
a Head Master since.1922 in <1 High School and he was also doing
import business. He gave Gp service in 1934. The son joined the
father in his business in the year 1928 and his other brother appellant No. 2 also join.ed that business some years ago.
The bank
account was produced which showed that between July 18, 1955
and December 31, 1955 the appellants' father had in his account
a credit of over Rs. 15,000/- but thereafter between January, 1956
and March, 1956 an amount of Rs. 15,000/- odd had been withdrawn. According to the High Court after these dates there was
nothing to show that the appellants had any funds. The evidence
of Romesh Chand P .W. 6 that the family had ;tn amount Gf
Rs. 40,000/- lying at their house was not believed. Now in the
first place the relevant period for determining whether the appellants were in a position to pay the balance of the sale price was
after November, 1956
when sanction
had
obtained by the
respondents for transfer of the plot from the Rehabilitation Ministry. The appellants had admittedly paid without any
difficult
Rs. 7 ,500 I - as earnest money and the bank account of the father
showed various credit and debit entries from time to time. On
March 5, 1956 an amount of Rs. 12,720/- had been withdrawn by
a cheque in favour of Romesh Chand P.W. 6.
According to his
statement this amount was withdrawn because his father was very
ill and it was decided to withdraw the amount at that time.
It was deposited with his mother and remained with her
throughout. There is no material or evidence to show that this
amount had been expended or spent and that the statement of
Romesh Chand was false on 1he point. Even if the version .that
Rs. 40,000/- in cash were lying at the house of the appellant is
discarded at least an amount of Rs. 12,720/- must have been
available at the material and relevant time. The appellants were
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carrying on business and there is nothing to indicate that they \Vere
not in a position to arrange for the remaining sum te make up the
total of Rs. 15,000/-. We are, therefore, unable to accept that
the appellants, who had all along been trying their utmost to purchase the plot, did not have the necessary funds or could not
arrange for them when the sale aeed had to be executed and registered after the sanction had been obtained.
Coming to the last point, the High Court has held that the
appellants were disentitled to a decree for specific performance
because a statement was made· at the Bar that during the pendency
of the appeal they had executed the decree of the trial court and
an amount of Rs. 7,500/- had been deposited by the respondents
pursuant to the execution proceedings.
It is true that the appellant could not accept satisfaction of the decree of the trial court
and yet prefer an appeal against that decree.
That may well haYe
brought them within the principle that when the plaintiff has
elected to proceed in some other manner than for specific performance he cannot ask for the latter relief.
This is what Scrutton
L. J. said in Dexters, Limited v. Hill Crest Oil Company BradfoJ"d
Ltd.(') at page 358 :
"So, in my opinion, you cannot take the benefit of a
judgment as being good and then appeal against it as
being bad."
£
It was further observed :
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"It startles me to hear it argued that a person can
say the judgment is wrong and at the same time accept
payment under the judgment as being right."
This illustrates the rule that a party cannot approbate and· reprobate at the same time.
These propositions are so well known
that no possible exception can be taken to them.
In the present
case, however, the above rule cannot apply because the appellants
had, by consistent and unequivocal conduct, made it clear that
they were not willing to accept the judgment of the trial court as
correct. It has already been mentioned at a previous stage that
after the decision of the trial court the appellants had even applied
O'l March 31, 1958 for an injunction restraining the respondents
from selling or otijerwise disposing of the plot as it was apprehende~ that they were trying to do so.
It was stated in this application that the plaintiffs would be preferring an appeal but it would
take time to secure certified copies.
An appeal was in fact
preferred and seriously pressed before the High Court on the relief
relating to specific performance.
ff· ;t926] I K.B. 348, 358.
JO-L436Slp.Cli71
582
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1971I2 S.C.R.
This relief is discretionary but not arbitrary and discretion
must be exercised ·in accordance with the sound and reasonable
judicial principles.
We are unable to hold that the conduct of
the appellants, which is always an important element for consideration, was such that it p1 -eluded them from obtaining a decree
for specific performance.
•
It is common ground that the plot in dispute has been transferred by the respondents r ·,d therefore the proper form of the
decree would be the sa·m..: ;, , indicated at page 369 in Lala Durga
Prasad & Another v. Lala Deep Chand & Others(') viz., "to direct
specific performance of the contract between the vendor and the
plaintiff and direct the s'<Jsequent transferee to join in the conveyance so as to pass on the ;tie which resides in him to the plaintiff.
He does not join in any special covenants made between the
plaintiff and his vendor; all he does is to pass on his title to the
plaintiff".
We order accordingly.
The decree of
the
courts
below is hereby set aside and the appeal is allowed with costs in
this Court and the High Court.
V.PS
Appeal allowed.
(l) [195+] S.C.R. 3£0.
A
D
c