(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Code of Civil Procedure (5 of 1908), any person suing for the specific performance of a contract for the transfer of immovable property may, in an appropriate case, ask for—
(a) possession, or partition and separate possession, of the property, in addition to such performance; or
(b) any other relief to which he may be entitled, including the refund of any earnest money or deposit paid or made by him, in case his claim for specific performance is refused.
(2) No relief under clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-section (1) shall be granted by the court unless it has been specifically claimed:
Provided that where the plaintiff has not claimed any such relief in the plaint, the court shall, at any stage of the proceeding, allow him to amend the plaint on such terms as may be just for including a claim for such relief.
(3) The power of the court to grant relief under clause (b) of sub-section (1) shall be without prejudice to its powers to award compensation under section 21.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 22
Section 22 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 provides for the grant of ancillary relief for possession, partition, and refund of earnest money in suits for specific performance.
The decree-holder can move an amendment application even before the executing court under Section 22(2) to secure physical delivery of possession alongside the execution of the sale deed.
Under the landmark *Babu Lal* ruling, the omission to pray for possession in the original plaint does not render a decree for specific performance unexecutable. The decree-holder can move an amendment application even before the executing court under Section 22(2) to secure physical delivery of possession alongside the execution of the sale deed.