cpc Order 1 Rule 10 – Strangers to a contract
- Strangers to a contract who make independent and adverse claims to the title of the respondent are not necessary or proper parties in a suit for specific performance of a contract for sale.
- The necessary parties in a suit for specific performance of a contract for sale are the parties to the contract or their legal representatives, as well as a person who has purchased the property from the vendor.
- A purchaser is considered a necessary party as their interests would be affected by the contract, whether they had knowledge of it or not.
- However, a person who claims adverse to the vendor's claim is not considered a necessary party in such a suit.
CPC Order 1 Rule 10 – Two tests
- The first test is that there must be a right to obtain relief against that party regarding the disputes involved in the proceedings.
- The second test is that the court cannot pass an effective decree in the absence of that party.
- Necessary parties are those without whom no decree can be passed, or there must be a right to seek relief against them in relation to the controversies in the proceedings.
- Proper parties are those whose presence before the court is necessary to enable the court to effectively and completely adjudicate and settle all the questions in the suit, even if no relief is claimed against them.
Specific Relief Act, 1963, Section 19 (a) to (e)
- lists the parties against whom a contract for specific performance can be enforced.
- Persons claiming adverse to the title of the vendor cannot be added as parties in a specific performance suit.
- Two tests determine who is a necessary party in such a suit.
- The presence of a party is necessary to adjudicate the controversies involved in the specific performance suit.The scope of the suit is based on the enforceability of the contract between the parties involved.
- Adding a person claiming adverse to the vendor would expand the suit and convert it into a title dispute.
- The presence of such parties is not necessary for effective adjudication of the suit.
- Civil Procedure Code, 1908, Order 1 Rule 10
- PLRonline ID 219800 (SC)
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