( 1 ) THIS appeal by the defendant arises out of a suit filed by the plaintiff- respondents for specific performance of a contract of sale directing the defendant to execute a sale deed in the name of plaintiff No. 2 on receipt of a sum of Rs. 20,000/- , the balance amount of sale consideration, from plaintiff No. 1 in respect of the properties detailed in the schedule at- tached at the foot of the plaint. The case set up by the plaintiffs was that the defendant was the owner and bhumidhar of the property in suit which included a big kothi, abadi land, kitchen garden and a grove in village Namaksair, Pergana and Tahsil Sadar, district Pratapgarh, He decided to stay permanently at Lucknow and started disposing of his property lying in district Pratapgarh, He transferred several items of property to plaintiff No, 1, his brother Avadesh Singh and Harkesh bahadur Singh and to other persons also. The defendant used to settle the sale transaction and the terms thereof orally at Lucknow and used to instruct his Mukhtar-am Sri Bharat Singh to execute the sale deeds and get them registered at Pratapgarh. The defendant approached plaintiff no. 1 to purchase the property in suit. After some negotiations, plaintiff No. 1 agreed to purchase the property in the name of his minor son plaintiff No. 2. The agreement between plaintiff No. 1 and the defendant was arrived at in August, 1963 at Lucknow in the presence of Avadesh Singh, brother of plaintiff No. 1, and Raja Raghvendra Pratap Singh, Talukedar of Manikpur State, it was stipulated that the property would be transferred for a consideration of Rs. 33,000/-, that the sale deed would be executed and got registered in the name of plaintiff No. 2 by Sri Bharat singh, the Mukhtar-am of the defendant, that the sale deed would be executed within one year from the date of the agreement, that a sum of Rs. 10,000/- would be paid as earnest money, that plaintiff No. 1 and his brother Avadesh Singh would transfer 2 biswas of their bhumidhari land situated in the compound of the Kothi close to the temple of Shivji in favour of the defendant for a consideration of Rs. 50/ -. In pursuance of the agreement, plaintiff No, 1 on 26-8- 1963 issued a crossed cheque in favour of the defendant for Rs. 10,000/- as earnest money and on the same date the plaintiff and his brother Avadhesh Singh executed a sale deed for a sum of Rs. 50/transferring 2 biswas of bhumidhari land forming part of plot No. 1221 of village Namaksair in favour of the defendant. The defendants Mukhtar-am gave a writing to plaintiff No. 1 acknowledging receipt of Rs. 10,000/- as earnest money in pursuance of the agreement to sell the property in suit. It was pleaded that in June, 1964 the defendant assured Sri Avadesh Singh, brother of plaintiff No. 1, to execute the sale deed by 15th July, 1964. However, on hearing rumours that the defendant intended to change his mind, Avadesh Singh along with Sri Surya baksh Singh, Vakil, Sri Balendra Bhushan Pratap Singh, M. L. A. , again met the defendant at lucknow on 28-6-1964 when they were told that the defendant had decided not to sell the property though he admitted to have entered into agreement to sell it. Thereafter Suit No. 4 of 1964 was filed in the name of Indu Prakash Singh (plaintiff No. 2) for specific performance of the contract of sale. An application was made in that suit for impleadment of Baijnath Singh as a co-plaintiff and for certain other amendments in the plaint. The prayef was, however, turned down by the court against which a revision was filed in the High Court. Subsequently the present suit was filed. It was asserted that though plaintiff No. 1 performed his part of the contract yet the defendant failed to perform his part, hence the suit. By a subsequent amendment, an assertion was made that plaintiff No. 1 is ready and willing to perform the remaining part of the contract.

( 2 ) THE defendant contested the suit denying having entered into a contract for sa