Seller Refuses to Execute Sale Deed: Specific Performance

If a seller refuses to execute the sale deed after a registered agreement to sell, file a civil suit for specific performance under Section 10 of the Specific Relief Act 1963 in the court where the property is located. You must file within 3 years of the date fixed for performance, or from the date you had notice that the seller refused. Send a written legal notice first, then sue.

Short on time? Jump to the step-by-step below. The single most important point: do not let 3 years pass, and keep proof that you were always ready and willing to pay the balance.

This happens most often when property prices rise after the agreement. The seller pockets your advance, then stalls, asks for “a little more,” or simply stops answering calls. A registered agreement to sell does not by itself transfer ownership, so the seller assumes they can walk away. They usually cannot.

Indian law treats land as unique. Money damages rarely make a buyer whole, because you cannot buy the same plot somewhere else. So the law lets you ask the court to order the seller to complete the sale. That order is called specific performance.

Since the Specific Relief (Amendment) Act 2018, this remedy is no longer a favour the court may grant at its discretion. It is now the general rule. Section 10 says specific performance “shall be enforced by the court,” subject only to limited exceptions. That shift is the most important thing to understand about your case.

Section 10, Specific Relief Act 1963 (as amended in 2018). The provision reads that “the specific performance of a contract shall be enforced by the court subject to the provisions contained in sub-section (2) of section 11, section 14 and section 16.” Before 2018 courts had wide discretion to refuse. Now the court must enforce the contract unless one of those named exceptions applies. The 2018 amendment applies to agreements made on or after 1 October 2018; the Supreme Court has held the amendment is prospective.

Section 16©. You can win only if you prove continuous readiness and willingness. The section bars relief to a person “who fails to prove that he has performed or has always been ready and willing to perform the essential terms of the contract which are to be performed by him.” In plain words: you must show you were always ready and able to pay the balance price and complete your side. This is the single most common ground on which buyers lose, so build this proof from day one.

Section 14. Some contracts still cannot be specifically enforced, for example a contract that is determinable in nature, one that needs constant court supervision, or one where the buyer has already obtained substituted performance. A normal sale of a flat or plot does not fall in these categories.

Section 20 (substituted performance). Instead of suing for the property, a buyer may give 30 days written notice and get the contract performed by someone else, then recover the cost from the defaulting seller. But for land this is usually pointless, because you cannot substitute the specific property. Choosing this route also means you give up the right to seek specific performance, so most buyers do not use it for immovable property.

Limitation: Article 54, Limitation Act 1963. You have 3 years. The period runs from “the date fixed for the performance, or, if no such date is fixed, when the plaintiff has notice that performance is refused.” If your agreement names a deadline to register the sale deed, the clock starts on that date. Miss the 3 years and your suit is time-barred, however strong your case.

Jurisdiction: Section 16, Code of Civil Procedure 1908. A suit for specific performance of a sale, which usually also asks for possession, must be filed in the civil court within whose local limits the property is situated. File in the wrong court and the plaint can be returned.

Before you sue, have an advocate send the seller a registered legal notice. State the agreement date, the price, the advance paid, and that you remain ready and willing to pay the balance and get the sale deed executed. Give a reasonable deadline, usually 15 days. This notice is strong evidence of your readiness and of the seller's refusal.

Check the date fixed in the agreement for executing the sale deed. Count 3 years from that date. If no date was fixed, count 3 years from when the seller refused, which your legal notice and the reply help fix. If you are near the deadline, file immediately and do not wait.

File a suit for specific performance in the court where the property lies. Plead the agreement, the consideration, the advance paid, and clearly aver that you have been and remain ready and willing to perform your part (Section 16©). Ask for execution of the sale deed and, normally, for possession. Add an alternative prayer for refund of advance with interest and damages, in case specific performance is refused.

Court fee on a specific performance suit is usually calculated on the consideration (sale price) under your State Court Fees Act. Rates differ by State, so confirm the slab with the court clerk or your advocate before filing.

Along with the suit, apply under Order 39 of the Civil Procedure Code for a temporary injunction restraining the seller from selling or transferring the property to anyone else during the case. This stops a third-party sale that could complicate enforcement.

The principle of lis pendens (Section 52, Transfer of Property Act 1882) means anyone who buys the property during the pending suit takes it subject to the court's decision. Some States allow you to register a notice of the pending suit. Ask your advocate.

• Original registered agreement to sell.
• Proof of advance or part payment (bank statements, receipts, cheque records).
• Copy of the legal notice sent and any reply from the seller.
• Title documents of the property you have, if any.
• Your identity and address proof.
• Evidence of funds showing you can pay the balance (bank balance, sanction letter), to prove readiness and willingness.

• Letting limitation lapse. Article 54 gives only 3 years. This is the most fatal and most common mistake.
• Failing to prove readiness and willingness (Section 16©). Vague pleadings or no proof of funds sink otherwise strong cases. The Supreme Court treats this as a mandatory statutory requirement the plaintiff must satisfy even if the seller does not raise it.
• Not pleading possession. If you forget to ask for possession, you may need a separate execution step later. Ask for it in the same suit.
• No injunction. Without an Order 39 injunction the seller can sell to a third party mid-suit and create new disputes.
• Treating an unregistered or unstamped agreement casually. An inadequately stamped agreement can be impounded; get advice on stamping before relying on it.

Suppose Kashvi Pathak pays a ₹5,00,000 advance on a ₹40,00,000 plot under a registered agreement to sell dated 10 January 2024, with the sale deed to be executed by 10 July 2024. Prices rise, and the seller refuses to register. Her limitation period runs 3 years from 10 July 2024. In April 2025 she sends a legal notice, keeps ₹35,00,000 ready in a fixed deposit as proof of willingness, and files a specific performance suit in the civil court where the plot lies, with an Order 39 injunction. Because her agreement is post-2018, the court must enforce it under Section 10 unless a Section 14 or Section 16 bar applies. This scenario is illustrative; outcomes depend on the facts of each case.

• Find your registered agreement to sell and note the date fixed for executing the sale deed.
• Count 3 years forward from that date and mark the deadline.
• Gather proof of every payment you made to the seller.
• Draft a short timeline of what the seller said or did to refuse.
• Call a local civil advocate to send a legal notice this week.

If you are unsure how to start, ask a question at the RTI Wiki help desk.

No. Before the 2018 amendment courts had wide discretion. After it, Section 10 of the Specific Relief Act 1963 says specific performance “shall be enforced by the court,” subject only to sub-section (2) of section 11, section 14 and section 16. So the court must enforce a valid agreement unless one of those exceptions applies. The amendment applies prospectively, to contracts made on or after 1 October 2018.

Three years, under Article 54 of the Limitation Act 1963. The period runs from the date fixed in the agreement for performance, or, if no date is fixed, from when you had notice that the seller refused. Filing even one day late can make the suit time-barred, so act early.

Not automatically. The Explanation to Section 16© says that in a contract for payment of money, you need not actually tender the money or deposit it in court except when the court directs. But you must prove you were always ready and willing to pay, so keep documentary proof of funds.

In the civil court within whose local limits the property is situated, under Section 16 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908, because the suit involves immovable property and usually also seeks possession. Filing in the wrong court can lead to the plaint being returned.

They can attempt to, which is why you should seek a temporary injunction under Order 39 CPC. Even otherwise, the doctrine of lis pendens (Section 52, Transfer of Property Act 1882) means a buyer during the pending suit takes the property subject to the court's final decision.

Always plead an alternative prayer for refund of your advance with interest and for damages. If the court declines specific performance, you can still recover what you paid and compensation, provided you asked for it in the plaint.

• Specific Relief Act 1963, Section 10, Section 14, Section 16 and Section 20 (as amended by the Specific Relief (Amendment) Act 2018), India Code.
• Limitation Act 1963, the Schedule, Article 54.
• Code of Civil Procedure 1908, Section 16 and Order 39.
• Transfer of Property Act 1882, Section 52 (lis pendens).

For a plain-language guide to citizen legal rights and using the Right to Information to track stalled government property records, see The RTI Playbook and the practical guides library.

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