Mr. J entered into an agreement with Mr. S to purchase his house for ` 20 lakh, within three months. He also paid ` 50,000/- as token money. In the meanwhile, in an anti-encroachment drive of the local administration, Mr. S's house was demolished. When Mr. J was informed about the incident he asked for the refund of token money. Referring to the relevant provisions of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 state whether Mr. J is entitled to the refund of the amount paid.

According to section 56 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, an agreement to do an act impossible in itself is void. Contract to do act afterwards becoming impossible or unlawful: A contract to do an act which, after the contract is made, becomes impossible, or, by reason of some event which the promisor could not prevent, unlawful, becomes void when the act becomes impossible or unlawful. According to section 65 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, when an agreement is discovered to be void, or when a contract becomes void, any person who has received any advantage under such agreement or contract is bound to restore it, or to make compensation for it to the person from whom he received it. In the instant case, Mr. J entered into a contract with Mr. S to purchase his house for ` 20 lakh, with a token payment of ` 50,000. The agreement included a condition that the sale would be completed within three months. Before the completion of the sale, the house was demolished by the local administration. This event made it impossible for Mr. S to sell the house to Mr. J as agreed. In this situation, Mr. J is required to refund ` 50,000 token money paid to Mr. S, as the contract to sell the house has become void due to the demolition of the house by the local administration, as a result of which it becomes impossible to sell the house on the part of S.