Specific Performance
Agreement to sell—Denial of decree for specific performance and grant of alternative relief of refund—Appeal—Transfer of land from tribal to non-tribal—Bar of Section 36A of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code—There is no bar for a tribal to enter into an agreement to sell and seeking advance sale consideration—However, before conveying the land by the tribal in favour of a non-tribal, the requisites of Section 36A must be complied with by the non-tribal before the State Government in terms of Section 36A of the Land Revenue Code—That stage has not yet arisen in the instant case, for the reason that defendant failed to perform his part of the agreement inasmuch as he did not come forward to execute the sale deed—If the defendant had come forward to execute the sale deed in favour of the plaintiff, then it would have been the duty of appellant to have proceeded under Section 36A of the Land Revenue Code and seek the requisite permission or previous sanction from the Collector—When all the courts have held that plaintiff has performed his part of the agreement and he was ready and willing to perform the rest of the obligation under the contract, it was only in the context of non-performance by defendant that the plaintiff was constrained to file the suit for specific performance—Therefore, on the basis of Section 36A, the trial Court, the first appellate court as well as the High Court could not have declined to grant the decree for specific performance to the plaintiff inasmuch as the considerations under the provisions of the Specific Relief Act only had to be made for the purpose of adjudicating the suit between the parties—Since there was no reason to decline the grant of a decree under the provisions of the Act, the trial Court, the First Appellate Court as well as the High Court ought to have granted the said decree rather than granting an alternative relief—Plaintiff is entitled to relief of specific performance of the agreement to sell—Appeal allowed.
[Paras 17 & 19]