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41. I shall now look into the question whether the Trial Court committed any error in granting the relief of specific performance.

42. Section 20 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, provides as follows:

"20. Discretion as to decreeing specific performance-

(1) The jurisdiction to decree specific performance is discretionary, and the Court is not bound to grant such relief merely because it is lawful to do so; but the discretion of the Court is not arbitrary but sound and reasonable, guided by judicial principles and capable of correction by a Court of appeal. (2) The following are cases in which the Court may properly exercise discretion not to decree specific performance-

(4) The court shall not refuse to any party specific performance of a contract merely on the ground that the contract is not enforceable at the instance of the other party."

43. The relief of specific performance having its roots in equity, the Specific Relief Act, 1963, has preserved the discretion of the Court not to grant the relief even though the agreement is specifically performable in law. The only fetters imposed by the statute on the exercise of the discretion are that the discretion must not be exercised arbitrarily but soundly and reasonably and guided by judicial principles. The phrase "capable of correction by a Court of appeals" has been inserted possibly to indicate the necessity for the trial Court to state the reasons for exercising its discretion in a particular way. The circumstances when specific performance mentioned in the Clauses (a), (b) and (c) of Sub- section (2) of Section 20 cannot be granted are not expressly exhaustive. They indicate the situations in which the Court may properly exercise discretion not to decree specific performance. However, certain considerations have been excluded as

44. Hardship of the defendant may be one of the grounds which may be taken into consideration for exercising its discretion by the Court in refusing to grant a decree for specific performance of contract.

45. Section 20 of the Specific Relief Act embodies a Common law that is grant of a decree for specific performance of a contract is a discretionary one. The Court may, in a given situation, take into consideration the subsequent events.

48. In S.G. Banerjee's Specific Relief Act, 10th Edn. At page 357, it is stated:---

"It is almost universally recognised that specific performance of a contract should not be granted, if in the circumstances of a case, it is inequitable to do so. The clause follows and gives statutory recognition to the universal rule. It enacts that

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NC: 2025:KHC:18989 HC-KAR where the defendant enters into the Contract under circumstances, which, though they do not render the contract voidable, yet make it inequitable to enforce specific performance, the Court may properly exercise discretion not to decree specific performance. What would or would not be inequitable would depend upon the facts and circumstances of the each case."