A suit for specific performance must conform to the requirements prescribed in Forms 47 and 48 of the First Schedule of the Civil Procedure Code.

JUDGMENT :- Plaintiff - appellant Manohar Lal filed a suit against the respondents for specific performance of an agreement said to have been executed by Smt. Rajeshwari Devi respondent No. 1 on 16-4-1967 (Ext. 14) in favour of appellant Manohar Lal promising to sell certain land for Rs. 2,000. It was alleged in the plaint that plaintiff Manohar Lal had paid Rs. 1,000 to Smt. Rajeshwari Devi by way of earnest money and she promised to transfer the land in appellants favour after obtaining a bhumidhari Sanad for the land. It was alleged in the plaint that respondent No. 1 in spite of several demands failed to execute the sale deed and, therefore, a decree for specific performance was prayed for.

2. The defence of defendant No. 1 Smt. Rajeshwari Devi was that she never executed an agreement to sell land in favour of plaintiff Manohar Lal and that by exercise of fraud he had obtained her thumb impression on certain papers. She denied having received Rs. 1,000 as earnest money. The trial court disbelieved the plea of fraud, held that there was a contract between Manohar Lal and Smt. Rajeshwari Devi under which she promised to transfer the disputed land in favour of the appellant and awarded a decree for specific performance against defendant No. 1 only.

3. Defendant No. 1 appealed and the lower appellate court allowed the appeal and dismissed the plaintiffs suit holding that he was not satisfied that there was a contract of sale between Manohar Lal and respondent No. 1. Learned counsel for the appellant assailed before me correctness of finding of the learned lower court to the effect that execution of an agreement to sell land by defendant No. 1 in favour of the plaintiff was not proved to its satisfaction. It was submitted that the lower appellate court had upheld the findings of the trial court to the effect that Smt. Rajeshwari Devi was not a minor at the time of execution of the sale deed as contended and that the theory of fraud set up on her behalf also appeared to be improper. I am of the opinion that the submission made on behalf of the appellant cannot be accepted as the finding of the lower appellate court on the question of execution of agreement by defendant No. 1 in favour of the plaintiff-appellant is a finding on a question of fact. It cannot be said to be a perverse finding notwithstanding that the story of fraud set up by Smt. Rajeshwari Devi was disbelieved. Smt. Rajeshwari Devi was admittedly an illiterate lady and the burden of proving intelligent and conscious execution of agreement of sale by her in favour of Manohar Lal obviously lay on the latter. The lower appellate court was, therefore entitled to consider the probabilities of the case, as also the conduct of Manohar Lal in determining the question whether Smt. Rajeshwari Devi executed any agreement promising to sell land in favour of Manohar Lal. The lower appellate court in this connection considered a number of circumstances, not the least important of which was that Manohar Lal was a petition-writer of about 35 years standing. On his own showing in 1962 respondent No. 2 had contracted to sell this very land acting as guardian for his wife, respondent No. 1, after being paid an advance of Rs. 500 and subsequently he refused to perform the contract and yet Manohar Lal should have readily agreed to advance a sum of Rs. 1,000 to respondent No. 1 when she is said to have paid him a sudden visit at his village house without Manohar Lal taking even the precaution of getting the agreement of sale registered and the payment of Rs. 1,000 made before the Sub-Registrar is too improbable. The plaintiffs conduct and extraordinary delay in filing the suit for specific performance were also circumstances which could be reasonably taken note of as factors discrediting the plaintiffs case. I am therefore, of the view that the finding of the District Judge to the effect that the agreement to sell was not proved to have been executed by Smt. Rajeshwari Devi in favour of M

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