The main legal point established in the judgment is the importance of compliance with court directions and the interpretation of the provisions of Section 28 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 in the context of rescission of an agreement.

SHEKHER DHAWAN, J.

Present revision petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India for setting aside order dated 7.10.2014 [Annexure P/4] whereby application under Section 28 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 [for short, “the Act”] for rescission of agreement dated 10.03.2005 was accepted and agreement stood rescinded.

2. Relevant facts of the case; that an agreement of sale of suit land dated 10.03.2005 was executed and Civil Suit No. 139 dated 25.5.2006 for specific performance of agreement of sale was filed and the same was decided on 28.02.2013. At the time of passing of judgment and decree, the Court of first instance directed the defendants to get the sale deed executed. The relevant part of the decree [Annexure P/2] is extracted below :-

“... is decreed with costs and the defendants are directed to get the sale deed executed and registered of the suit land after getting the same free from all encumbrances and after receiving the balance sale consideration amount in favour of the plaintiff within a period of two months from the date of passing of the said judgment failing which the plaintiff would be entitled to get the sale deed executed through the Court. Decree sheet be prepared and file be consigned to the record room.”

3. Thereafter, first appeal was filed on 4.4.2013 and the same was pending at the time of filing of present petition, though the same is now reported to have been dismissed being in fructuous after passing of the impugned order.

4. Petitioner has challenged the order dated 7.10.2014 on the ground that as per the above order, payment was to be made by the plaintiff within two months and that order was subject to the condition that the suit land was to be made free from all encumbrances and till then, there was no direction. More so, the appeal was filed by the defendants in April, 2013 and the same was pending. The petitioner got issued a legal notice on 25.3.2013 [Ex. R/2] that the property be made free from all encumbrances and the said notice was sent through registered post and the postal receipts are Ex. R3 and R/4 on the file. However, the respondents became over clever and dishonest and on 4.5.2013, they filed an application under Section 28 of the Act for rescission of the contract dated 10.3.2005 because of alleged failure of the present petitioner to comply with the direction of deposit of balance sale consideration within the period stipulated in the judgment and decree [Annexure P/1 and P/2], but that stage had not come.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that even after receipt of notice, the present petitioner as a matter of caution, moved an application on 24.5.2013 [Annexure P/5] before the Court below seeking permission to deposit the sale consideration of Rs.13.00 lakhs as per decree dated 28.2.2013 [Annexure P/2] before Additional Civil Judge [Senior Division], Rupnagar and the Court below directed the Decree Holder to deposit the said amount in Government Treasury by issuing a challan form dated 24.05.2013 under her signatures on the basis of which the Decree Holder deposited the balance consideration of Rs.13,00,000/in Government treasury. Still the Court below accepted the application under Section 28 of the Act which is liable to be set aside on the grounds that firstly, because the compliance was yet to be made by the respondents; secondly, the Civil Appeal was pending and thirdly, the amount was deposited by the petitioner after seeking permission from the Court. However, the Court below completely ignored these facts while passing the order and as such, the impugned order, dated 7.10.2014 [Annexure P/4] be setaside.

6. While arguing this point, learned counsel for the respondents submitted that as per the judgment and decree [Annexures P/1 and P/2], there was clear cut directions to deposit the amount within a period of two months of passing the said judgment and decree, but the said amount was not deposited till 27.4.2013. The present petitioner