Court case(2015) 1 SCC 705

The appellant agreed to buy a house from the respondent, paid a substantial advance and repeatedly asked the vendor to complete. The vendor avoided execution of the sale deed. The trial court decreed specific performance. The High Court reversed, reasoning that the purchaser had not shown she had the balance money ready and that, prices having risen, specific performance would be inequitable. She appealed.

The Supreme Court restored the decree. To prove readiness and willingness the plaintiff is not required to produce the money or to show a concluded scheme for financing the purchase; it is enough that she was in a position to arrange it and that her conduct showed she wanted to perform. Escalation of price during the litigation is, by itself, no ground to deny specific performance, otherwise every vendor could profit by delay. To balance the equities, however, the Court directed the purchaser to pay an additional sum over the agreed price before taking the conveyance.