Specific Relief Act Section 16 — Personal bars to relief
CHAPTER II SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE OF CONTRACTS
General
Summary
A court will not order someone to follow through on a contract if that person has already received an alternative substitute for the contract, or if that person has become unable to perform their side of the deal, breaks a key term, acts fraudulently, or deliberately goes against the relationship the contract was meant to create. Also, the person asking the court for this order must show that they have done their part or were always ready and willing to do their essential parts, unless the other side stopped them or gave up that requirement. For money payments, the person does not have to actually hand over or deposit the money unless the court specifically says so, but they still have to prove they were ready and willing to perform the contract as it was truly meant to be understood.
Official Text
Specific performance of a contract cannot be enforced in favour of a person— 2[
(a) who has obtained substituted performance of contract under section 20; or]
(b) who has become incapable of performing, or violates any essential term of, the contract that on his part remains to be performed, or acts in fraud of the contract, or wilfully acts at variance with, or in subversion of, the relation intended to be established by the contract; or
(c) 3[who fails to prove] that he has performed or has always been ready and willing to perform the essential terms of the contract which are to be performed by him, other than terms the performance of which has been prevented or waived by the defendant.
Explanation.—For the purposes of clause (c),—
(i) where a contract involves the payment of money, it is not essential for the plaintiff to actually tender to the defendant or to deposit in court any money except when so directed by the court;
(ii) the plaintiff 4[must prove] performance of, or readiness and willingness to perform, the contract according to its true construction.