We Bundell's Lot
The main question would seem to be, "Was the Contract complete as between Menon and Purchaser at the time of the withdrawal of the notice of resumption by the Government?" Whether the contract be a Statutory one (such as those under the Lands Clauses Act) or an ordinary Contract for the Sale of land, the ratio decidendi is the same.
In a Contract for the sale of land, all the essential terms must be fixed. Price is an essential term and where this is neither ascertained nor ascertainable in a mode which can be adopted and enforced by a court of Law, then there is no concluded Agreement. (Fry on Specific Performance, pp. 94-98). Now under the Lands Clauses Act, the Price may be said to be fixed immediately upon Notice served, on the principle of the maxim “id certum est quod certum reddi potest”. There can be no difficulty in finally ascertaining the price for the Act provides infallible machinery for that purpose. Hence the essential terms of the Statutory Contract are "fixed" ab initio. But a manifest distinction exists between the machinery supplied by the Lands Clauses Act to ascertain the Price.
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