IMPORTANT POINT
Plaintiff will be deemed to be in shoes of defendant and shall be entitled to amount of compensation, determined and awarded under provisions of Land Acquisition Act. Decree for compensation is passed as an alternate decree and in lieu of decree for specific performance.

JUDGMENT

M.R. Shah, J.

Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order dated 23.09.2016 passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh in R.S.A. No. 4848/2016, by which the High Court has disposed of the said second appeal modifying the judgment and decree for specific performance qua agreement to sell which was in favour of the original plaintiff to the extent holding that the respondent-original plaintiff shall be deemed to have stepped into the shoes of the vendor and shall be entitled to the entire amount of compensation along with solatium and interest etc. owing to the acquisition of the land, the original defendant has preferred the present appeal.

2. The facts leading to the present appeal in nutshell are as under:

That an agreement to sell was executed by the appellant - original defendant (hereinafter referred to as the 'defendant') in favour of the respondent - original plaintiff (hereinafter referred to as the 'plaintiff') on 9.3.2010 with respect to the land in question for a total sale consideration of Rs. 32 lakhs. That out of the total sale consideration of Rs. 32 lakhs, the plaintiff paid Rs. 31, 50,000/- to the defendant. That as per the agreement the sale deed was to be executed on 8.7.2010. Upon failure of the defendant to execute the sale deed, the plaintiff served a legal notice dated 13.7.2020 requesting the defendant to remain present at Sub-Registrar's office on 6.8.2010 to execute the sale deed. But instead of remaining present on the said date at the office of the Sub-Registrar, the defendant refused to do so on 4.8.2010. That thereafter the plaintiff instituted a suit on 5.8.2010 being Civil Suit No. RBT-34/2010 in the Court of learned Civil Judge, Senior Division, Jhajjar, Haryana for specific performance of the agreement to sell and to handover the possession of the land in question. By way of an alternative prayer, it was prayed for recovery of Rs. 31,50,000/- with interest @ 24% per annum from 9.3.2010 till the date of payment. That after the filing of the suit but before passing of the final decree, the land in question came to be acquired by the acquiring body for which a notification under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act was issued on 6.7.2012. That the learned trial Court decreed the suit by judgment and decree dated 19.12.2012 and passed a decree for specific performance. That the learned trial Court specifically gave findings in favour of the plaintiff on the execution of the agreement to sell; readiness and willingness on the part of the plaintiff. That the learned trial Court directed the defendant to execute the sale deed in favour of the plaintiff by receiving the balance sale consideration of Rs. 50,000/- and handover the possession of the suit property to the plaintiff. The judgment and decree passed by the learned trial Court came to be affirmed by the learned first appellate court.

At this stage, it is required to be noted that before the learned trial court, it was not brought to the notice of the court that with respect to the land in question a notification under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act has been issued on 6.7.2012.

3. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the judgment and decree passed by the learned trial Court, affirmed by the first appellate court, the defendant preferred second appeal before the High Court being R.S.A. No. 4848/2016. Before the High Court, it was submitted on behalf of the defendant that in view of the fact that the land in question has been acquired under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, the defendant has no saleable right and interest in the suit property and therefore the agreement to sell cannot be executed. Submissions on merits were also made on behalf of the defendant on the findings recorded by the learned trial court on execution of the agreement to sellby the defendant in favour of the plaintiff; accepting Rs. 31,50,000/- by way of part sale consideration; and readiness and willingne