Overview
Since the 2018 amendment, Indian law's default answer to a broken contract is performance, not a refund: courts shall enforce specific performance except in narrow cases, discretion having been deliberately removed. The classic battlefield is property — sellers who take an advance and stall as prices rise — but the remedy covers share transfers, business sales, and any deal where money can't substitute for the thing promised. The claimant's own conduct is half the case: continuous readiness and willingness (funds arranged, notices sent, no abandonment) must be pleaded and proved, and the 3-year limitation runs from the refusal or the fixed date.
Key Provisions — Specific Relief Act, 1963 (amended 2018)
- Post-2018, specific performance is a rule-based entitlement, not judicial charity — substituted performance was added as an option too.
- Section 16(c) — the plaintiff must aver and prove continuous readiness and willingness; it defeats more suits than any defence.
- Lis pendens: transfers made during the suit are subject to its outcome — a seller can't defeat you by reselling.
- Courts can order the sale deed executed by the court's own officer where the defendant refuses to sign.
What You Can Get
How We Handle It
Readiness Record
Funds, notices, and conduct assembled into the Section 16(c) story before filing.
Performance Notice
A demand fixing time and place — the record that anchors the suit.
Suit + Injunction
Specific performance suit with restraint on resale, filed within limitation.
Decree & Conveyance
Deed executed — by the defendant, or by the court for him.
Frequently Asked Questions
I paid 30% and the seller stopped answering calls — what should I NOT do?
Don't go silent and don't accept a casual refund. Keep demanding performance in writing, keep your funds visibly ready, and sue within limitation — the paper trail of readiness is the case.
Can I choose money instead if I've gone off the property?
Yes — damages can be claimed in the alternative, and substituted performance (buying elsewhere and charging the difference) is a statutory option since 2018.
Legal Connect connects you with independent civil advocates; we are not a law firm and this page is general information, not legal advice. Limitation clocks run in most civil matters — call +91 22 6555 3444 early.