JUDGMENT

P.B.Suresh Kumar, J.

The defendant in a suit for specific performance of a contract for sale of an item of immovable property is the appellant.

2. The plaintiff is the elder sister of the defendant.

There was a partition in the family of the parties on 24.04.1976, in terms of which the plaint schedule property measuring 54 cents, wherein the family house as also the family temple are situated, was allotted to the share of the defendant. The defendant was not residing in the family house in the plaint schedule property before or after the partition. Instead, the plaintiff was residing in the family house all throughout, except for a short period after her marriage. The family temple in the plaint schedule property was also being looked after by the plaintiff. The defendant was enjoying credit facilities from Bharath Overseas Bank, Thiruvananthapuram in connection with the business carried on by him, and the plaint schedule property as also a property held by the husband of the plaintiff V.K.Gopinath Pillai were mortgaged for securing repayment of the credit facilities of the defendant. During 2003, the operation of credit facilities of the defendant became irregular and the ba