- (1.) Leave granted. Heard learned senior counsel for the parties.
(2.) The defendants (the appellants-herein) are before us having succeeded before the trial court and in the first appellate court. The High Court has unfortunately invented a new method of decreeing the suit for specific performance in part only in respect to the payment of the earnest money of Rs. 50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand Only) and advance money of Rs. 14,50,000/- (Rupees Fourteen Lakhs and Fifty Thousand Only) without reversing the findings of the trial court as well as that of the first appellate court on the vital aspects that the plaintiffs (respondents-herein) were not ready and willing to perform their part of the contract apart from that they did not had the balance consideration to purchase the disputed land within the time stipulated in the agreement.
(3.) The facts unfold that initially an agreement dated 13.01.1990 was entered into, in which it was agreed that for the sum of Rs. 55,00,000/- (Rupees Fifty Five Lakhs only), defendants would sell the property in area 10.75 acres situated at village Mehmoodpura, Tehsil and District Ludhiana, State of Punjab, and on that day a sum of Rs. 50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand only) was paid as earnest money. Later on, at the time of payment of Rs. 14,50,000/- (Rupees Fourteen Lakhs and Fifty Thousand only) on 31.1.1990 further agreement was entered into which was also reduced in writing in which it was stipulated that sale deed would be executed by 30.10.1990. It would be open to the plaintiffs to construct boundary wall between 24.4.1990 to 15.5.1990 at their own cost and the possession of the land would be delivered to the purchaser at the time of registration of the sale deed. This agreement has referred the prior agreement dated 13.1.1990 on which date a sum of Rs. 50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand Only) had been paid as earnest money. It was also stipulated that sale deeds would be registered in the name of anyone suggested by the plaintiffs and the land had been mortgaged with Punjab National Bank (for short, "the Bank"). It would be necessary for the defendants to clear the amount and to obtain No Objection Certificate from the Bank and only thereafter sale deed to be executed.;