Holding

Under Section 28(1) of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, the court retains jurisdiction to extend time for compliance of a conditional decree for specific performance, and such extension is a discretionary power, not merely condonation of delay.

Summary

The petitioner entered into a contract to sell agricultural land to the respondent, who defaulted, leading to a decree for specific performance directing the respondent to pay earnest money and damages within three months. After a delay of about seven and a half years, the respondent applied to rescind the decree and sought an extension of time for compliance. The executing court and the Madhya Pradesh High Court exercised their discretion to extend the time and ordered the respondent to deposit an additional sum as compensation for loss of enjoyment of money. The petitioner challenged these orders, arguing that the courts lacked authority to extend time and that the decree should be treated as a preliminary decree. The Supreme Court held that under Section 28(1) of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, the court retains jurisdiction to extend time for compliance of a conditional decree and that such extension is a matter of discretion, not merely condonation of delay. Consequently, the special leave petition was dismissed, upholding the lower courts' orders.

Issues considered

Whether a court has the power under Section 28 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 to extend time for compliance of a conditional decree for specific performance.
Whether the extension of time is permissible despite the respondent’s unexplained delay and whether the decree can be treated as a preliminary decree.

Legislation cited

Specific Relief Act, 1963s. 28

Subjects

Specific performanceExtension of timeConditional decreeSpecific Relief ActRescissionCivil procedureJudicial discretionDelay

Judgment

SARDAR MOHAR SINGH THROUGH POWER OF A
'1 ATTORNEY HOLDER, MANJIT SINGH
v.
MANGILAL @ MANGTYA

JANUARY 15, 1997
, B
•
[K. RAMASWAMY, S. SAGHIR AHMAD AND
G.B. PATTANAIK, J.J.]
~ ...
Specific Relief Act, 1963 : Section 28--Court's discretion to extend time
for compliance of Conditional decree as mentioned in the decree for specific c
pe1fonnance-/t is not one of condonation of delay-It is one of extension of
time-Executing Cowt as well as High Court had exercised the discretion and
extended the time to comply with the conditional decree-No inteiference
called for.
\ CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Special Leave Petition (C) D
'
,. No. 2283 of 1997.
•, ~

From the Judgment and Order dated 4.10.96 of the Madhya Pradesh
High Court in C.R. No. 394 of 1996.

R. S. Suri for the Petitioner. E
The following Order of the Court was delivered :

Delay condoned.

This special leave petition arises from the judgment of the learned F
Single Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, made on October 4, 1996
in Civil Revision No. 394/96. The petitioner had entered into a contract
with the respondent for sale of agricultural lands in Khasra Nos. 52, 61, 73,
74, 79, admeasuring 3-533, 0-166, 1-437, 0.384, 0.202 hectares 'and also an
·agreement to sell dated July 7, 1977 in respect of lands situated in Village
Khode, for a consideration of Rs. 25,000.· The respondent failed to perform G
his part of the contract and, therefore, the petitioner filed a suit bearing
Civil Suit No. 9A/78 in the Court of ADJ, Mandleshwar. The trial Court
granted a decree for specific performance on November 18, 1987 directing
<""'"1 the respondent to refund the earnest money of Rs.15,000 and also damages
quantified in the sum of Rs 2,000, as agreed in the contract, within a period H
297
298 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1997) 1 S.C.R.
A of three months and in default to execute the sale deed. The respondent
filed applications rescind the. decree in execution and he sought extension
of time for compliance. The executing Court by order dated March 15,
1996 allowed both the applications of the respondent and directed him to
deposit the amount within three days from that date. In revision, the High
Court, while upholding that order, has, in addition to the direction of the
B lower court, directed the respondent to deposit a further sum of Rs. 16,000
to compensate the petitioner for loss of enjoyment of money. Thus, this
special leave petition.

Shri RS. Suri, learned counsel for the petitioner contended that in
C view of the inordinate delay of 7-1/2 years in making the application and
in view of the finding given by the executing Court that no proper explana-
tion was given by the respondent for the delay, the execution Court as well
as the High Court committed an error of law directing extension of time
there being no proper explanation. The High Court also was wrong in its
D conclusion that the decree can be treated to be a priliminary decree and,
therefore, the direction can be granted in the final decree. It is also
contended that the Court has no power to extend time. We do not find
. force in any of these contentions. It is seen that sub-section (1) of Section
28 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 (for short, the 'Act') gives right to the
judgment- debtor to file an application to rescind the contract. It reads as
E under:

"Where in any suit a decree for specific pe~formance of a contract
for the sale or lease of immovable property has been made and
purchaser or lessee does not, within the periud allowed by the
decree or such further period as the Court may allow, pay the
F
purchase money or other sum which the Court has ordered him
to pay, the vendor or lessor may apply in the same suit in which
the decree is made, to have the contract rescinded and on such
application the Court may, by order, rescind the contract either so
far as regards the party in default or altogether, as the justice of
G the case may require."

From the language of sub-section (1) of Section 28, it could be seen
that the Court does not lose its jurisdiction after the grant of the decree
. for specific performance nor it'becomes jimctus officio. The very fact that
H Section 28 itself gives power to grant order of rescission of the decree
SARDAR MOHAR SINGH v. MANGILAL 299
would indicate that till the sale deed is executed in execution of the decree, A
the trial Court retains its power and jurisdiction to deal with the decree of
, special performance. It would also be clear that he Court has power to
' enlarge the time in favour of the judgment debtor to pay the amount or to
perform the conditions mentioned in the decree for specific performance,
in spite of an application for rescission of the decree having been filed by B
the judgment-debtor and rejected. ·In other words, the Court has the
discretion to extend time for compliance of the conditional decree as
mentioned in the decree for specific performance. It is true that the
respondent has not given satisfactory explanation of every day's delay. It is
not, unlike Section 5 of the Limitation Act, an application for condonation
of delay. It is one for extension of time. Under these circumstances, the C
executing Court as well as the High Court had exercised discretion and
extended the time to comply with the conditional decree. Accordingly, we
· do not fmd any valid and justifiable reason to interfere with the order
passed by the High Court confirming {he order of the executing Court
when in particular, the High Court has further enhanced a sum of Rs D
16,000 to compensate the petitioner for loss of enjoyment of the money.
The said amount is given to the respondent in a sum of Rs. 16,000, rightly
for the reason that parties contracted for non-performance of the contract.
They quantified the damages at Rs. 2,000 for 8 years. The Court has given
Rs. 16,000 obviously in terms of the contract.
E
The special leave petition is dismissed.

G.N. Petition dismissed.

f