Section 17 of SRA : Section 17: Contract To Sell Or Let Property By One Who Has No Title, Not Specifically Enforceable

Explanation using Example

Imagine John enters into a contract to sell his house to Mary. Later, it is discovered that John is not the true owner of the house, as he had initially claimed. Mary decides to sue John to enforce the contract and make him sell the house to her as agreed.

In this scenario, under Section 17(1)(a) of The Specific Relief Act, 1963, the court would not enforce the contract in favor of John (the vendor) because he knew he did not have a valid title to the property when he entered into the contract with Mary.

Furthermore, if John believed he had a good title at the time of the contract but later it turns out that there are legal issues casting reasonable doubt on his title, under Section 17(1)(b), the court would also not enforce the contract at the time of completion if the title issue is not resolved.