Specific-Performance Decree-Holder Can Pursue Land Delivery After Decree’s Survey-Number Typo, Madras HC Upholds Execution-Case Corrections

The respondent obtained a decree for specific performance in O.S. No. 99 of 1989 and later secured execution of a sale deed in his favour.

The suit agreement, plaint and first ex parte decree correctly described the property, but the second decree dated 21 November 2002 contained errors in the property description, including the survey number.

The respondent obtained correction of the decree under Section 152 CPC and then sought consequential amendments to the execution petition and delivery application. The Executing Court allowed those amendments.

The judgment debtors challenged that order, relying principally on the delay in seeking amendment and the respondent’s failure to amend the sale deed.

Section 152 CPC permits correction of clerical or typographical mistakes in judgments, decrees or orders.

The Court also applied the principle that an act or mistake of the court should not prejudice a party: where the property was correctly described in the agreement and plaint, a court-generated error in the decree should not deprive the decree-holder of the benefit of the decree.

Consequential amendments to execution proceedings may be allowed to conform them to a corrected decree

The Court found that the property description in the agreement, plaint and first decree was correct, and that the discrepancies in the later decree resulted from typographical errors made when it was drafted.

Since the decree had been corrected under Section 152 CPC, the requested changes to the execution petition and delivery application merely brought those documents into conformity with the corrected decree.

The Court held that the decree-holder should not suffer because of the court’s error and found no serious error in the Executing Court’s exercise of discretion.

The objections based on delay and the unamended sale deed did not warrant setting aside the order.

No costs were awarded, and the connected miscellaneous petition was closed.