After receiving substantial amount in advance the owner sold land to another person. I am interested in purchasing a piece of land. That land is situated in XXX of Sultanpur district. The owner executed a registered agreement to sell and received 90% of the sale money in advance. Owner has sold that land to another person after receiving a substantial amount in advance. When I sent a legal notice to him to execute the sale deed he replied that he had sold that land after my refusal. After paying 90% of the price of the land to its owner in advance, I have no right to get the property in my name. The person who has purchased that land is my friend and he was a witness in the agreement to sell. Please give me some advice.
Asked from: Bihar
You should file a civil suit against the original owner for the specific performance of the contract under Section 10, 19, 20 and 34 of the Specific Relief Act 1963. The owner is bound to perform the contract and execute a sale deed in your favour because he has accepted a substantial sale consideration (90% sale consideration) in advance.
No need to file a civil suit for the cancellation of sale deed because the subsequent purchaser is not a bona-fide purchaser. He has purchased this land have had information about the execution of agreement to sell between you and the original owner.
In the civil suit for specific performance of contract, you should also make the subsequent purchaser as a defendant. You should seek relief from both persons i.e., original owner and subsequent purchaser.
Relief against original owner: you should seek a relief from him to perform the contract specifically by executing a sale deed in your favour because after receiving substantial amount of sale consideration in advance he has not executed sale deed.
Relief against subsequent purchaser: you should seek a relief from him to join in the execution of the sale deed in order to completely convey title to the agreement-holder (you).
Since the subsequent purchaser has not acted honestly and having information that the original owner has received substantial sale consideration in advance, he purchased that land. Hence, he shall join in the conveyance so as to pass on the title to you.
Your claim from the court to direct the subsequent purchaser to join in the process of execution of sale deed in the favour of plaintiff is well founded.
In Durga Parsad v. Deep Chand 1954 SCR 360; Soni Lalji Jetha v. Soni Kalidas Devchand (1967) 1 SCR 873, R.C. Chandiok v. Chuni Lal Sabharwal (1970) 3 SCC 140, Dwarka Prasad Singh v. Harikant Prasad Singh (1973) 1 SCC 179 and Rathnavathi v. Kavita Ganashamdas (2015) 5 SCC 223; the Supreme Court has held that the trial court has the power to direct the subsequent purchaser to join the original owner in the process of execution of sale deed in favour of plaintiff, because he is not a bona-fide purchased and he had the information of agreement to sell executed between the plaintiff and original owner.
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