( 1 ) THE petitioner herein seeks to be added as a party-defendant to the proceedings by reason of the fact that during the pendency of the present suit an agreement for sale of the suit premises was entered upon between himself and the defendant No. 3, the owner of the suit property, under which agreement be claims to have paid a sum of Rs. 37,656/- to the defendant No. 3.

( 2 ) THE present suit filed by the plaintiffs against, inter alia, the defendant No. 3 is for a declaration that the plaintiffs are entitled to specific performance of an agreement for sale of the suit-property upon payment of the balance sum of the purchase money to the defendants Nos. 1 and 2, who had acquired the property under the Land Acquisition Act. It is not disputed that the plain-tiffs purchased the property at an auction sale held by the defendant No. 1, who admittedly bad a statutory right of preemption to purchase the land in the event of the defendants Nos. 1 and 2 deciding to sell the same. The petitioner alleges that although the present proceedings have been instituted in 1967-68, the same has not been disposed of during the last fourteen years and although the evidence in th