I.S. Tiwana, J. - (1.) THE Petitioner makes a grouse of the dismissal of his application under qtion 28 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). In order to resolve the controversy raised in this petition the following facts deserve to be noticed.
(2.) ON December 19, 1974, a decree was passed against the Petitioner by the Senior Sub Judge, Jullundur, directing him to specifically perform the agreement contained in the receipt exhibited as P. 15 in that suit. The operative part of the decree concededly reads as follows: As a result I pass a decree for specific performance of the agreement of sale as per receipt Ex. P 15 of H. No. 407, Rainbow Road, Jalandhar City on payment of balance price of Rs. 30,000/ -in favour of the Plaintiff and against the Defendant. The Defendant to get the sale deed registered by 30.1.1975 and to do all the acts to put the Plaintiff in possession of the property and to pay the costs of the suit. The other relief claimed by the Plaintiff is disallowed. It is maintained by the Petitioner that since he was directed to execute the sale deed by January 30, 1975, he requested the Plaintiff -Respondent a number of times to pay him the balance amount of Rs. 30,000/ - and to get the sale deed registered in terms of the above noted decree, but the later always got on avoiding to perform his part of the contract. He further claims that on January 30,1975, he even went to the office of the Sub Registrar and submitted an application to him showing that he had come to that office with a view to get the sale deed registered but the said application was returned to him with the remarks that "he should seek a proper remedy before the proper Court". It is then his pleaded case that since the Respondent decree -holder failed to carry out his part of the decree, he 'per force' had to file on appeal (R. F. A. No. 118 of 1975) in this Court on March 4, 1977 assailing the decree but the said appeal was dismissed on August 25, 1983, affirming the decree of the trial Court. On October 11, 1983, the Respondent decree -holder filed an application for the execution of the decree passed in his favour by the trial Court on December 19, 1974 and as affirmed by this Court on August 25, 1983. On November 17, 1983. the Court directed the Respondent decree -holder to deposit Rs. 35,625/ -. i. e., Rs. 30,000/ - as balance of the sale consideration and Rs. 5,625/ - by way of stamp and registration charges, etc This amount was admittedly deposited by the Respondent on the very next day, i, e., November 18, 1983. It is only on November 19, 1983, that the present application under Section 28 of the Act was filed by the Petitioner with the assertion that the Respondent decree -holder had failed to perform his part of the contract in as much as he never deposited the balance sale consideration i. e., Rs. 30,000/ - within one month from the date of passing of the decree by the trial Court on December 19, 1974 and in view of that the contract of sale be rescinded, meaning thereby that the decree in question be nullified. This application, as already indicated in the opening part of this judgment, has been dismissed by the lower Court.
(3.) IT is now being contended rather seriously by Mr. G. S. Sachdev, learned Counsel for the Petitioner that firstly the trial Court could not dismiss his application casually without permitting the parties to lead evidence in support of their respective pleas and recording findings thereupon, and secondly, in the light of the above noted facts it is established beyond any doubt that the Respondent decree -holder had failed to perform his part of the contract as he did not deposit the balance of the sale consideration, i. e., Rs. 30,000/ - and also the requisite stamp and registration charges within the prescribed period of thirty days from the date of the passing of the decree in his favour, i. e., December 19, 1974. Having given my thoughtful consideration to the entire matter in the light of the submission of the learned Counsel for the parties, I, however, find no merit in this petition.;