The appellant's readiness and willingness to perform the contract, the essence of the contract, and the entitlement to the relief of specific performance were the central legal points established in the judgment.

The plaintiff in the original suit is the appellant herein. The suit was filed by him on the basis of an agreement for sale dated 15.09.1988, to which the appellant and the defendant were the parties, for the relief of specific performance in the said contract. The learned trial Judge after trial, dismissed the suit holding the appellant/plaintiff not entitled to the relief of specific performance, by judgment and decree dated 08.08.1996. Aggrieved by the same and challenging the decree of the trial court dismissing the suit filed by the appellant herein, the present appeal has been preferred on various grounds set out in the memorandum of appeal.

2. The appellant had filed the suit before the trial court containing the following allegations.

The suit property originally belonged to the respondent / defendant, who got it under a partition deed dated 19.02.1986 bearing Document No.880 of 1986. He offered to sell the suit property measuring an extent of 2.08 acres to the appellant/plaintiff at the rate of 2,75,000/- per acre and the said offer was accepted by the appellant/plaintiff, pursuant to which both of them entered into a written agreement for sale dated 15.09.1998. On the date of the agreement itself, the appellant / plaintiff paid a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- as advance and part of the consideration. Though the agreement contains a recital that the transaction should be completed within a period of one year, the same was not the essence of the contract. In accordance with the said agreement for sale, four sale deeds covering an extent of 8,626 Sq.ft alone were executed by the respondent / defendant. Sale deed in respect of the balance extent remained to be executed. The appellant/plaintiff was ready and willing to perform his part of the contract and he had made his readiness and willingness to make payment of the balance consideration and get the sale deeds executed by the respondent /defendant, provided he could get encumbrance certificate and Income Tax clearance certificate known to the respondent/defendant. Despite repeated request made by the appellant / plaintiff, the respondent/defendant did not get Income Tax clearance certificate. On the other hand, the respondent / defendant chose to issue a telegram at the fag end of the period stipulated in the agreement, calling upon the appellant/plaintiff to make payment of the sale consideration and get the sale deed executed, as if he was ready to perform his part of the contract. The respondent / defendant also issued a lawyers notice to that effect. A suitable reply was sent by the appellant / plaintiff, asking the respondent / defendant to get the Income Tax clearance certificate. Possession of the property, which was the subject matter of the agreement, was handed over to the appellant / plaintiff on the date of agreement itself, to enable him to form a lay out dividing the property into house sites and in fact, the appellant / plaintiff divided the properties into several house sites, out of which four plots alone were sold. While so, the respondent/defendant, who was not ready and willing to perform his part of the contract, made attempts to alienate and encumber the suit property in order to defeat the right of the appellant / plaintiff and also attempted to deposes the plaintiff/appellant, by driving him out of the suit property. Therefore, the appellant / plaintiff had to approach the Court by way of the suit for the relief of specific performance of contract directing the respondent / defendant to execute sale deed in respect of the suit B Schedule property, after receiving the balance sale consideration and for permanent injunction restraining the respondent / defendant from interfering with the appellants / plaintiffs peaceful possession and enjoyment of the suit property.

3. The suit was resisted by the respondent/defendant by filing a written statement, admitting the execution of agreement for sale dated 15.09.1988 and the receipt of a sum of Rs.1,00