ARIJIT PASAYAT, J.

( 1 ) CHALLENGE in this appeal is to the judgment rendered by a Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur. By the impugned judgment, the High Court held that the Trial Court had erroneously accepted the explanation given by the appellant. It accepted the plea of the defendant-respondent that there was abandonment of rights under the contract by the plaintiff. The plaintiff was, therefore, held to be not entitled to claim for specific performance of the contract. However, directions were given for payment of rupees one lakh in view of the wrong retention of a sum of Rs. 25,000/- of the plaintiff by the defendant. The original plaintiff Banshilal Soni is dead and his legal heirs are the appellants.

( 2 ) BACKGROUND facts in a nutshell are as follows: the appellant-plaintiff instituted the Civil Suit No. 8-A/92 for specific performance of contract for sale of house No. 11/198 situated at Halwai Line, Raipur as per the agreement dated 10. 10. 1989. According to the plaintiff, the defendants had agreed to sell the suit house to the plaintiff, for a consideration of Rs. 5 lakhs by execution of an agreement for sale of the same on 10. 10. 1989. In pu