ROUGH DRAFT

TOPIC – DOCTRINE OF PART PERFORMANCE

ROLL NO. – 19071 (GROUP 14)

CHAPTERS –
1. INTODUCTION - The title ‘Part Performance’ itself suggests that a part of the contract
has been performed by a party. And the rule focuses upon saving the interest of the
party who has performed some part of his contract. The doctrine of Part Performance
has been adopted in Indian Law from Common Law. “Section 53A” of “Transfer of
Property Act, 1882” embodies the rule of part performance. It is also known as ‘equity
of Part Performance’.
2. MEANING OF DOCTINE OF PART-PERFORMANCE – The doctrine of part performance of
contract is based on the general doctrine of prevention of fraud. It is meant to protect
the transferee who has taken possession, spent money in further improvements. When
a transferee has, in the faith that the transfer would be completed according to the law,
taken possession, it would be inequitable to allow the transferor to treat the transferee
as trespasser.
3. ENGLISH AND INDIAN LAW – In this chapter the difference between English law and
Indian law on the topic of part performance shall be discussed.
4. Amendment of Section 53-A Transfer of Property Acts and other enactments- Section
53A incorporates the doctrine of Part Performance. This section include in the Transfer of
Property Act by amending Act of 1929. Before this amendment, there was no enacted law in
India on this subject. The Anglo-Indian Courts used to apply English equitable doctrine of Part
Performance to Indian cases. But, the application of English equity to Indian cases was neither
certain nor uniform. In some cases the English Law was applied as such cases, the English law of
part-performance was applied but with some modifications.
An amendment has been made in Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act by the
Registration and other Related Laws Act (48 of 2001) which shall be discussed.
5. ESSENTIALS OF THE DOCTRINE OF PART PERFORMANCE- In this section the various essentials of
the doctrine shall be discussed in detail.
6. OBJECT BEHIND THE DOCTRINE - The main and foremost object of the doctrine of Part
Performance is to prevent fraud. Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act lays down that
where any person contracts to transfer --- a) For consideration, b) Any immovable property, c)
 By writing signed by him or on his behalf from which the terms necessary to constitute the
transfer can be ascertained with reasonable certainty, and the transferee.
7. NATURE OF TRANSFEREE’S RIGHTS UNDER SECTION 53-A – In this section following aspects
shall be discussed-
1) No title or interest in property. 2) Passive equity; no right of action. 3) Transferee as Plaintiff
or Defendant?
8. Conclusion - Although historically the cases on part performance fall into two groups, fraud
and possession, the reasons behind the possession group are purely historical, and that
consequently those cases should have no influence as precedents upon modern cases. The
phrase "part performance" is a misnomer. Cases should not be taken out of the statute because
of certain types of acts of part performance, but solely to prevent fraud. In other words, the
golden thread running through the cases on part performance and the Statute of Frauds is the
prevention of fraud.