Readiness and willingness in specific performance can be pleaded in substance, not by exact words, under Section 16(c).

A plaint in a specific performance suit satisfies Section 16(c) of the Specific Relief Act if, read as a whole, it shows continuous readiness and willingness in substance, even without the statute's exact wording. The provision does not require rigid phraseology; it requires an averment that the plaintiff has performed, or remains ready and willing to perform, the essential contract terms. In contracts involving payment of money, actual tender or deposit in court is not indispensable unless the court directs it. Because the plaint pleaded payment of nearly the entire balance consideration, tender of the remaining amount in court, and the defendant's evasion of execution, the pleading was held sufficient and the suit could not fail on absence of exact statutory words.

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Issues: Whether a plaint in a suit for specific performance satisfied the requirement of averring readiness and willingness to perform the contract under Section 16(c) of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, even though the exact words of the provision were not used.

Analysis: The pleading has to be read as a whole and judged by its substance rather than by any rigid formula of words. Section 16(c) does not insist on any specific phraseology; it requires that the plaintiff aver performance, or continuous readiness and willingness to perform, the essential terms of the contract. The explanation to the provision shows that in contracts involving payment of money, actual tender or deposit in court is not essential unless directed by the court, and a voluntary tender may itself support the plaintiff's willingness to perform. Where the plaint stated that almost the entire balance consideration had been paid, the remaining amount had been tendered in court, and the defendant had evaded execution of the sale deed, the pleading disclosed readiness and willingness in spirit and substance.

Conclusion: The plaint complied with Section 16(c), and the suit for specific performance could not be defeated on the ground that the precise statutory words were absent.

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