Yes — and for buyers who have paid advances and find the seller refusing to complete the transaction (often because property prices have risen since the agreement was signed), a suit for specific performance is frequently the most powerful remedy available. The Patna civil courts exercise this power regularly in property matters, and the legal position has become significantly more favourable to buyers since the 2018 amendment to the Specific Relief Act.

Under Section 10 of the Specific Relief Act 1963 as amended in 2018, specific performance of a contract for sale of immovable property has shifted from being discretionary — something courts could refuse and replace with damages — to being near-mandatory. Courts are now expected to enforce the agreement and compel the actual sale, except in specified exceptional circumstances. This change is important for Patna buyers because it means a seller cannot simply pay back the advance with interest and walk away from a registered agreement; the court can compel them to complete the registration of the sale deed in your favour.

To succeed, you need: a valid written agreement to sell (ideally registered, though an unregistered written agreement to sell is admissible as evidence of a contract for specific performance purposes); evidence that you were ready, willing, and able to perform your own obligations — particularly paying the agreed balance — when the sale was due to be completed; and a suit filed within the three-year limitation period from the date fixed for performance in the agreement, or from the date of the seller's refusal if no specific date was fixed. Filing an interim injunction on the same day as the specific performance suit — restraining the seller from transferring the property to any third party while the case is pending — is the most urgent step, because a sale to a third-party buyer while your suit is pending creates significant complications, even though the doctrine of lis pendens under Section 52 TPA gives you some protection. The civil and property lawyers at the Patna panel of Aapka Legal Advice can file both the suit and the injunction application promptly and manage the case before Patna's civil courts.