Mahinder Narain, J.

( 1 ) THIS petition under Section 20 of the Arbitration Act has been filed for the purpose of enforcement of the agreement to sell dated 8-10-1989, executed the parties to the suit whereby the respondent is alleged to have agreed to sell plot bearing No. 0-11/41, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi, to the petitioner.

( 2 ) IT is stated in this petition that in the said agreement there is an arbitration agreement between the parties. The clause relating to arbitration is in the following terms :

"that in the eventuality of any dispute in between the parties, on any matter concerning this agreement, or any matter incidental thereto, the same shall be referred to an Arbitrator appointed mutually, as per the Indian Arbitration Act, in force and the award of the Arbitrators so appointed, shall be final and binding on between the partics thereto. "

( 3 ) I had put io Mr. R. K. Makhija, learned counsel for the petitioner, at the time when the matter came up for admission on 9-8-1990, that in view of the fact that the arbitration would ultimately result in specific performance of the alleged agreement to sell between the parties, whether it is permissible in law to refer the alleged dispute between the parties in connection with the allowed agreement to sell between the parties to arbitration, in view of, inter alia, the provisions of Section 10 and Section 20 of the Specific Relief Act. Section 10 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 reads as under:-

"except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, the, specific performance of any contract may, in the discretion of the court be, enforced- (a) when there exist no standard for ascertaining the actual damage caused by the non-performance of the act agreed to be done ; or (b) when the act agreed to be done in such that compensation in money for its non-performance would not afford adequate relief. Ezplanation-Unless and until the contrary is proved, the court shall presume- (i) that the breach of a contract to transfer immovable property cannot be. adequately relieved by compensation in money; and (ii) that the breach of a contract to transfer movable property can be so relieved except in the following cases:- (a) where the property is not an ordinary article of commerce, or is of special value or interest to the plaintiff, or consists of goods which are not easily obtainable in the market; (b) where the property is held by the defendant as the agent or trustee of the plaintiff. "it is, therefore, clear from the said section that grant of specific performance is in the discretion of the court.

( 4 ) APART from this, there is Section 20 of the Specific Relief Act, which reads as follows:-

"20 (1 ). The jurisdiction to decree specific performance is discretionary, and the court is not bound to grant such relief merely because it is lawful to do so ; but the discretion of the court is not arbitrary, but sound and reasonable, guided by judicial principles and capable of correction. by a court of appeal: (2) The following are cases in which the court may properly exercise discretion not to decree specific performance- (a) where the terms of the contract or the conduct of the partics at the time of entering into the contract or the other circumstances under which the contract was entered into are such that the contract, though not viodable, gives the plaintiff an unfair advantage over the defendant ; or (b) where the performance of the contract would involve some hardship on the defendant which he did not foresee, whereas its non-performaace would involve no such hardship on the plaintiff;. . . (c) where the defendant entered into the contract under circumstances which though not rendering the contract voidable, makes it inequitable to enforce specific performance. Explanation I.--Mere inadequacy of consideration, or the mere fact that the contract is onerous to the defendant or improvident in its nature, shall not be deemed to constitute an unfair advantage within the meaning of clause (a) o

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