Suit For Specific Performance Of Agreement To Sell To Be Filed In Court Having Jurisdiction Over Property : Supreme Court

CASE TITLE : ROHIT KOCHHAR Vs. VIPUL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS LTD. & ORS.

The Supreme Court held that a suit for specific performance of an agreement to sell must be instituted in the Court within whose local jurisdiction the property -which is the subject of the agreement- was situated as per Section 16 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

The Court rejected the argument that a specific performance decree can be enforced by the personal obedience of the defendant and hence such a suit was maintainable at the place where the defendant resided/carried out business in terms of the proviso to Section 16 CPC.

The bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan held that the proviso to Section 16 was not applicable..

Court can’t compel registration of sale agreement at a place beyond its jurisdiction

The bench referred to the recent judgment in Babasaheb Dhondiba kute Vs Radhu Vithoba Barde  which held that the conveyance by way of sale would take place only at the time of registration of a sale deed in accordance with Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908. Till the time of such registration, no conveyance could be said to have taken place.

Accordingly, the court dismissed the appeal and advised the appellant to take appropriate steps to present the plaint before the court of competent jurisdiction and get his suit adjudicated on merits in accordance with the law.

“We agree with the view expressed by the High Court in the impugned order that the proviso to Section 16 would be applicable to a case where the relief sought by plaintiff can be obtained through the personal obedience of the defendant, that is, the defendant has not to go out of the jurisdiction of the court at all for the purpose of the grant of relief. However, since the present case would require the defendants to go to Gurugram for the purpose of execution of the sale deed, hence the proviso to Section 16 of the CPC will not be applicable,” it observed.

Even if a specific prayer for possession is not made, the suit for specific performance will fall within clause (d) of Section 16 CPC.

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