In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld a decree for specific performance of a 1979 property sale agreement. The original owner, managing a joint Hindu family's property as Karta, had agreed to sell to the plaintiffs for Rs. 46,000 but instead sold it to others in 1981. The courts below found the subsequent sale was collusive. The Supreme Court confirmed the prior agreement was binding on the Karta's legal heirs, reasoning that a coparcener's signature on the agreement created a presumption of family consent. The Court modified the decree to ensure equitable relief: legal representatives must execute the sale deed and deposit compensation amounts reflecting the transaction's complications. Article 142 powers enabled this balanced approach to resolve protracted litigation begun in 1982.
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