C.V. Muni Samappa vs Kolala Gurunanjappa (dead) and Others

Bajamannar, C.J.—This is an appeal by defendant 1 in O. S. No. 50 of 1944 in the Court of the Subordinate Judge of Anantapur against a

decree granting specific performance of an agreement to sell executed by the appellant and respondent 2 (defendant 2) on 3rd July 1944. There is

no dispute as to the execution of the agreement. The two defences in the lower Court were (1) that as there were four sons of defendant 1, he-

could not convey anything more than his share and (2) that the breach was on the part of the plaintiff, as time was of the essence of the contract.

The learned Subordinate Judge held that as the agreement did not make any reference to the sons of defendant 1 or the binding nature of the -

alienation such pleas need not be gone into in this suit. He also held that time was not of the essence of the contract and the breach was by the

defendants. He, therefore, held that the plaintiff was entitled to specific performance.

The learned counsel for the appellant has pressed before us only one of the points, and that is that the suit for specific performance must fail so

far as defendant 1 at least is concerned, because be could not be compelled to convey his sons'' shares and the agreement to sell the entire house

is not valid and binding on his sons. He cited to us the ruling of the Full Bench in Balusami Iyer v. Lakshmana Iyer, 44 Mad 605 : A. I. R. 1921

Mad. 172. What happened in that case was that a suit was brought by certain plaintiffs to enforce specific performance of a contract to sell a

house and ground in Madras made by defendant 1 alone. The plaintiffs claimed that defendant 1''s son defendant 2, who was not a party to the

contract was nevertheless bound by the agreement entered into by the father, because he had assented to it and also because the sale was for the

benefit of the family. These pleas were denied, and the learned trial Judge held that the pleas were not established, and the suit was dismissed

against the son. The question for decision was whether in such circumstances specific performance could be decreed against defendant 1 alone,

and if it could be, on what terms. The learned Judge''s answer to the question was that specific performance could not be granted of the contract

so as to direct execution of the conveyance of the entire property but it was open to the purchaser to get specific performance so far as the share

of the vendor was concerned on payment of the consideration agreed upon without any abatement. It will be noticed that the facts are entirely

different in this case. There is no allegation in the plaint that the agreement to sell executed by defendant 1 was binding on his sons. In fact, the

plaint does not make any reference to any sons of defendant 1. The plaint contains the bare allegation of the execution of the agreement by the

defendants and the usual allegations of default on the part of the defendants and the readiness and willingness on the part of the plaintiff to perform

the contract. To such a case as this, the following observations of Kumaraswami Sastri J. in Balusami Iyer v. Lakahmana Aiyar, 44 Mad. 605 : A.

I. R. 1921 Mad. 172 directly apply :

Where a person sues for specific performance of an agreement to convey and simply impleads the party bound to carry out the agreement there is

no necessity to determine the question of the vendor''s title, and the fact that the title which the purchaser may acquire might be defeasible by a

third party is no ground for refusing specific performance if the purchaser is willing to take such title as the vendor has. But where a party seeking

specific performance seeks to bind the interests of persons not parties to the contract, alleging grounds which under Hindu law would bind their

interests and enable the vendor to give a good title as against them and makes them parties, it is difficult to see how the question as to the right of

the contracting party to convey any interest except his own can be avoided and a decree passed, the effect of which will merely be to create a

multiplicity of suits.

The case before us is a case which falls within he from category, that is, where a person as simply for specific performance of the agreement to sell.

The learned Judge, was, therefore, right in passing a decree for specific performance against the two defendants the executants to the agreement.

The appeal fails and is dismissed with costs of the plaintiff''s legal representatives.