Section 16 of SRA : Section 16: Personal Bars To Relief

Explanation using Example

Imagine a scenario where Rahul agrees to sell his house to Priya, and they sign a contract stating that Priya will pay the full amount within six months. However, Priya fails to pay the amount in the given time frame and requests a court to enforce the contract and make Rahul sell the house to her. The court refers to Section 16 of The Specific Relief Act, 1963:

• Priya cannot enforce specific performance if she already received a substituted performance, such as Rahul returning her advance money with some compensation (clause a).
• If Priya had breached any essential term of the contract, such as not obtaining a necessary loan to make the payment on time, or if she acted in a way that contradicted the contract's purpose (clause b).
• If Priya cannot demonstrate that she was ready and willing to pay the agreed amount within the contract's time frame, the court may find that she is not entitled to enforce the contract (clause c).

The court would likely not enforce specific performance in Priya's favor if she falls under any of these categories outlined in Section 16.