The said order ran as follows No.
But in ease of the Vendors wilful default the Ven dors shall also pay to the Purchasers interest at 6 per annum on the amount of earnest money from the date hereof fill the date of return of the earnest money and all companyts of the Purchasers.
Pursuant to the aforesaid agreement, the respondents attorneys delivered the documents of title to the appellants attorneys on May 17, 1957 for investigation of title and in the third week of May, 1957 the respondents gave possession of the aforesaid property to the appellants in part perform ance of the said agreement.
Read Application of the applicant Shri G.G. Patel, dated the 8th April, 1959.
1, the Additional Collector.
Aggrieved by the judgment and decree of the trial Court, the appellants took the matter in appeal to the High Court of Bombay but their appeal remained unsuccessful.
ORDER A certificate is hereby granted to Shri Govindbhai Gordhanbhai Patel residing at House No.
1 having obtained the requisite sanction from the Collector, the respondents were bound to companyplete the sale and to execute the companyveyance in favour of appellant No.
On the respondents refusal to companyperate with the appellants in the matter of obtaining permission or sanction under the Act, appellant No.
if the title be number approved by the Purchasers attorneys or if the purchase is number companypleted within the said period of two months owing to any default on the Vendors part, it shall be at the option of the Pur chaser to rescind this agreement and in that event the Purchaser shall be entitled to receive back the earnest money from the Ven dors, together with out of pocket companyts incurred in the preparation of this agree ment and investigation of title, advertise ment, Bataid, companyrespondence etc.
5,000/ and the companypensation amount of Rs.
TNC.48 dated December 8, 1958, the Prant Officer, Thana, informed the respondents that their request to sell the aforesaid lands to appellant No.
1 for the purchase of the aforesaid plots of land and requesting the respondents to let them know as to when their clients would desire to companyplete the sale and further asking them whether they had got the property transferred to their names in the records of the Collector of Thana, whereupon the respondents advo cate by his letter dated June 30, 1959 addressed to the appellants attorneys replied saying that his clients companyld number take numberice of the aforesaid permission.
of land under section 63 may be granted.
400 dated the 11th May, 1959.
Sd/ For Addition al Collector, Tha na On June 25, 1959, the appellants attorneys addressed a companymunication to the respondents attorneys forwarding therewith a companyy of the aforesaid order No.
Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and decree dated the 29th January, 1968, of the Bombay High Court in Appeal No.
Not heeding the aforesaid companymunication of the appellants dated November 24, 1959, the respondents filed a civil suit, being suit No.
882.25 holding inter alia that the aforesaid agree ment dated May 16, 1957 which was void ab initio being violative of section 63 of the Act was discovered by the respondents to be void in June, 1957 when they found that the permission under section 63 of the Act was necessary.
On March 14, 1959, the respond ents attorneys wrote to the appellants attorneys evasively replying that numberuseful purpose would be served by approach ing the higher authorities having regard to the provisions of the Act.
Acceding to the request of appellant No.
On January 21, 1959, the respondents attorneys wrote to the appellants informing them that numbereffect companyld be given to the aforesaid agreement of sale dated May 17, 1957 as the permission under the Act to sell the suit property had been refused by the Prant Officer by his letter dated December 8, 1958 supra for appellant No.
After having gone through the merits of the priority list mentioned in clause C of section 2 of section 32 P, through the Mamlatdar Thana, permission is hereby granted to Shri Govindb hai Gordhanbhai Patel to purchase the land mentioned below from Shri Ibrahim Ismail Jetpurwala etc.
150/ per mensem for wrongful retention of the property from June, 1957 till delivery of possession thereof.
1 companyld number be granted as the intending purchaser had number obtained the certificate from the Collector to the effect that he intends to take to the profession of agri culture and is capable of cultivating land personally.
Read Papers ending with Mamlatdar, Thanas No.
If the sale is number companypleted within time provided for companypletion owing to the fault of the Purchaser, the Vendors shall be entitled to put an end to this companytract and to for feit the earnest money.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by JASWANT SINGH, J. This appeal by special leave which is directed against the judgment and decree dated January 29, 1968, of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay involves a question of the applicability or otherwise of the doctrine of frustration embodied in section 56 of the Contract Act which to use the words of Viscount Maugham in Joseph Con stantine Steamship Line Limited v. Imperial Smelting Corpo ration Ltd. 1 is only a special case of the discharge of companytract by an impossibility of performance arising after the companytract was made or to use the language of Mukherjea, J. in Satyabrata Ghose v. Mugneeram Bangut Co. Anr.
B. Dadachanji Co. for the respond ents.
404, Majiwade, Taluka Thana on his appli cation dated 8th April, 1959 under subclause C of clause 1 of Rule 36 that he intends to take to the profession of Agriculture.
Thana by his order dated June 6, 1959 granted to the former the requisite certificate under Rule 36 of the Rules as also the permission to purchase the aforesaid plots of land from the respondents as required under section 63 1 of the Act read with Rule 36 of the Rules.
1 and that the aforesaid agreement companyld number be put an end to in the manner in which the respondents were attempting to do.
The Collector or other officer authorised under the proviso to sub section 1 of section 63 shall number grant permission for sale, gift, exchange, lease or mortgage of any land in favour of a person who is number either an agriculturist or agricultural labourer or who, being an agriculturist, cultivates per sonally laud number less than the ceiling area whether as owner or tenant or partly as owner and partly as tenant unless any of the follow ing companyditions are satisfied f the land is required for cultivating it personally by a person, who, number being an agriculturist, intends to take to the profes sion of agriculture and to whom the Collector after having regard to the order of priority mention in clause c of sub section 2 of section 32 P, has given a certificate that such person intends to take to the profession of agriculture and is capable of cultivating land personally By means of companymunication No.
In spite of the stout resistance put up by the appellants, the trial Court decreed the suit in favour of the respondents subject to their paying to the appellants or depositing in Court the earnest money of Rs.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeal No.
CB TEC/1800 dated June 6,1959, made by the Additional Collector, Thana granting permission to appellant No.
The respondents attorneys also called upon the appellants by means of the said companymunication to return the tite deeds adding that on the return of the title deeds, the earnest money paid by them at the time of execu tion of the aforesaid agreement would be returned to them.
Thereupon, the appellants advocate wrote to the respondents attorneys on November 24, 1959 pointing out to them that appellant No.
under section 63 1 read with Rule 36 under the Bombay Tenancy and Agricul tural Lands Amendment Act, 1955 on the companyditions as mentioned under Village S. No.
1860 of 1968.
Thereafter the respondents served a numberice on the appellants on August 25, 1959 calling upon them to return the title deeds and to restore possession of the aforesaid property.
1 made an application to the Collector, Thana District, Thana on April 8, 1959, bringing the above mentioned facts to his numberice and re questing him to grant him a certificate of an agriculturist and the necessary permission to purchase the aforesaid plots of land.
25,000/ vide agreement dated May 16, 1957, relevant clauses whereof provided as follows If the purchasers shall insist on any requisitions or objections as to the title, evidence of title, companyveyance, posses sion, receipt of rent or any other matters on the abstract of or this agreement or companynected with the sale which the Vendors shall be unable or on any ground unwilling to remove or companyply with, the Vendors shall be at liberty numberwithstanding any negotiation or litigation in respect of such requisition or objection, to give to the Purchasers or their Solicitors numberice in writing of their intention to re scind the companytract for sale unless such requisition or objection be withdrawn and if such numberice be given and the requisition or objection be number withdrawn within ten days after the day on which the numberice was sent, the companytract shall, without further numberice be rescinded.
36 of 1959 on November 17, 1959 in the Court of the Civil Judge, Senior Division, Thana, for declaration that the aforesaid agreement dated May 16, 1957 was void in law and of numberlegal effect and for possession of the aforesaid property as also for companypensation at the rate of Rs.
On August 22, 1957, the re spondents and the appellants made a joint ,application to the District Deputy Collector, Thana Prant, under section 63 of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 hereinafter referred to as the Act seeking permission to sell and purchase the aforesaid agricultural land.
CB TNC, 1800 Collectors Office, Thana, Thana, 6th June, 1959.
1 1942 A.C. 154, 168.
The Vendors shall thereupon return to the purchasers the deposit but without any interest,costs of investigating the title or other companypensation or payment whatever.
472/ 60 .
Sachin Chaudhary, Prakash Mehta, Ravinder Narain and L. John of M s. 1.
1s failure to obtain the certificate to the effect that he intended to take to the profession of agriculture and was capable of cultivating land personally.
P. Bhatt, B.R. Agarwala and Janendra Lal, for the appel lants.
The facts giving rise to this appeal lie in a short companypass and may be briefly stated The respondents who are the owners of four plots of agricultural land admeasuring 7 acres and 13 gunthas and a bungalow standing thereon situate in village Majwade, near Pokhran Talao Road, Thana, having bought the same from Homi D. Dubash under a sale deed dated September 9, 1953 agreed to sell the same to the appellants in lieu of Rs.
On March 4, 1959, the appellants advocate wrote to the respondents attorneys requesting them to authorise the appellants to approach the higher authorities for securing the necessary permission.
2 1954 S.C.R. 310.
1 Save as provided in this Act a numbersale including sales in execution of a decree of a Civil Court or for recovery of arrears of land revenue or for sums recoverable as arrears of land revenue , gift, exchange or lease of any land or interest therein, or b numbermortgage of any land or interest therein, in which the possession of the mort gaged property is delivered to the mortga gee, shall be valid in favour of a person who is number an agriculturist or who being an agricul turist will after such sale, gift, exchange, lease or mortgage, hold land exceeding two thirds of the ceiling area determined under the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands Ceiling on Holdings Act, 1961 or who is number an agri cultural labourer Provided that the Collector or an officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf may grant permission for such sale, gift, exchange, lease or mortgage, on such companyditions as may be prescribed It may be mentioned that the companyditions alluded to in the proviso to the above quoted section 63 have been pre scribed by Rule 36 of the Bombay Tenancy and Agriculutral Lands Rules, 1956 hereinafter referred to as the Rules the relevant por tion whereof is to the following effect Conditions on which permission for sale, etc.,
Section 63 of the Act reads 63.
