The central legal point established in the judgment is the requirement of proving readiness and willingness on the part of the plaintiff as a condition precedent for obtaining relief for grant of specific performance, and the importance of protecting the interest of the plaintiff in the pending suit by restraining the respondent from transferring the property.

ORDER

1. By the impugned order dated 16.11.2019 passed in civil suit No.412/2019, the learned court below has refused the prayer of the plaintiff-appellants to grant ad interim injunction under Order 39 Rule 1 and 2 read with Section 151 CPC.

2. A brief fact of the case is that the plaintiff/appellants entered into an agreement with the sole respondent to purchase property bearing No.G-1/362 (A) at RIICO Industrial Area, Khushkhera, in the District of Alwar. The total measurement of the land, which was subject matter of the deal was 1000 Sq. Mtrs. on total cost of Rs.73,00,000/-. At the time of agreement dated 26.12.2018 Rs.7,30,000/- was paid as advance consideration money and the remaining amount of Rs.65,70,000/- was to be paid till 02.04.2019 for getting the registered sale deed. The parties further agreed that the respondent shall procure no objection certificate from Rajasthan Financial Corporation, District Industrial Center, Pollution Board, Jaipur Electricity Distribution Corporation and other Government and non-Government Departments after clearing dues on the land before registration of the documents. Besides other conditions, the parties further agreed that if the seller goes back of the agreement, he will be required to make payment of double the paid consideration money and if the purchaser goes back, the deal would be deemed to be cancelled.

3. Since the respondent was to perform his obligation in the contract within time uncertain, therefore time was not the essence of the contract.

4. On 27.04.2019, the appellants wrote a letter to the respondent that they are ready with balanced consideration money and they want to pay and get the registered sale deed.

5. On 30.04.2019, the respondent replied that the money be paid by 01.05.2019.

6. According to the appellants, since reply was received in the second half of 01.05.2019, hence, the part money could not be paid. However, the appellants immediately sent whatsapp message to the respondent along with scanned copy of the bank draft and cheque and sought for intimation regarding time and place of the payment. The respondent has also annexed a copy of the whats-app message with the reply and alleges that the bank draft and cheque were ante dated just to defeat the time schedule mentioned for payment of money. The respondent declined to receive the remaining consideration money on the ground that payment was not made within time. Hence, the suit for specific performance of contract.

7. The appellants stated that the appellants were ready with bank draft of Rs.45,25,000/- and a cheque of Rs.19,72,000/-. The appellants pleaded their ’readiness and willingness’ to perform their part of the contract in the plaint also.

8. The respondent is contesting the suit mainly on the ground that false and flimsy plea has been taken by the appellants regarding ’readiness and willingness’. In fact the appellants had no money to pay in full, the remaining consideration money.

9. The respondent in their written statement has quoted the assertion of the plaintiff-appellants in the notice dated 27.04.2019 as follows:-

"I am ready to pay the balance amount of Rupees Sixty Five Lakhs Seventy Thousand only through the Demand Draft. I have already drafted a DD in favour of Pawan Kumar Aggarwal (respondent) and I am ready to give you the drafted DD’.

10. The respondent pleaded that the aforesaid statement was wrong one and the appellants did not perform their part of the agreement, therefore, the appellants have no prima facie case to get any relief in the suit. Consequently, the court below has rightly refused the prayer for ad interim injunction.

11. The provisions of Section 16 (i) (c) of the Specific Relief Act 1963 as amended with effect from 01.10.2018 reads as follows:-

"16. Personal bars to relief.-Specific performance of a contract cannot be enforced in favour of a person-

(c) [who fails to prove] that he has performed or has always been ready and willing to perform the essential terms of the contra