Section 17. Contract to sell or let property by one who has no title, not specifically enforceable

17. Contract to sell or let property by one who has no title, not specifically enforceable.— (1) A contract to sell or let any immovable property cannot be specifically enforced in favour of a vendor or lessor— (a) who, knowing himself not to have any title to the property, has contracted to sell or let the property; (b) who, though he entered into the contract believing that he had a good title to the property, cannot at the time fixed by the parties or by the court for the completion of the sale or letting, give the purchaser or lessee a title free from reasonable doubt. (2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall also apply, as far as may be, to contracts for the sale or hire of movable property.