A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said the earnest money is given to bind the contract and the seller is entitled to forfeit it if the sale of an immovable property falls through due to the fault of the purchaser.
"Earnest money is paid or given at the time when the contract is entered into and as a pledge for its due performance by the depositor and it is to be forfeited in case of non-performance by the depositor," the bench said.
The bench gave the ruling setting aside a Delhi High Court order which had held that the seller is entitled to forfeit only a nominal amount and not the entire sum.
The bench said irrespective of the amount, the purchaser is entitled to forfeit the entire money.
"There can be converse situation also that if the seller fails to perform the contract, the purchaser can also get the double the amount, if it is so stipulated.
"It is also the law that part payment of purchase price cannot be forfeited unless it is a guarantee for the due performance of the contract. In other words, if the payment is made only towards part payment of consideration and not intended as earnest money, then the forfeiture clause will not apply," the bench said. (More)