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Section 17: Contract to sell or let property by one who has no title, not specifically enforceable

Specific Relief Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1963
Section 16 All 44 Sections of Specific Relief Act Section 18

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 17

Section 17 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 provides that a contract to sell or let immovable property cannot be specifically enforced in favor of a vendor or lessor who has no title or who cannot give the purchaser a title free from reasonable doubt.

  • Vendor with No Title Barred: A contract to sell or let immovable property cannot be specifically enforced in favour of a vendor or lessor: (a) who, knowing they had no title, contracted to sell or let.
  • Title Free from Reasonable Doubt Requirement: Section 17(1)(b): Who, though entered into the contract believing they had good title, cannot at the time fixed by the parties or by Court for completion, give the purchaser or lessee a title free from reasonable doubt.
  • Protection of Buyers Against Shaky Titles: Prevents unscrupulous or reckless vendors from coercing purchasers into accepting clouded, litigious, or encumbered titles.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Balmukand v. Kamla Wati, AIR 1964 SC 1385: The Supreme Court held that a vendor cannot compel specific performance if they cannot convey a marketable title free from reasonable doubt; the purchaser is entitled to refuse completion.
  • A. Abdul Rashid Khan v. P.A.K. Ghulam Dasthagir, (2001) 7 SCC 683: Reaffirmed that the burden is on the vendor to satisfy the court under Section 17 that they can pass unclouded title to the buyer.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

When a seller sues your client (buyer) to compel purchase of a property plagued by pending co-sharer partition suits or attachment liens, raise Section 17(1)(b) to demonstrate that the title is not free from reasonable doubt.

Section 16 All 44 Sections of Specific Relief Act Section 18