Under Section 55 of the Indian Contract Act of 1872, a missed date makes a contract voidable only if the parties intended time to be essential. Otherwise the other side can only claim compensation.
In Chand Rani v. Kamal Rani, decided in December 1992, the Supreme Court applied this to the sale of immovable property. In such sales “there is no presumption as to time being the essence of the contract.” Elsewhere the judgment puts it more strongly: “there is presumption against time being the essence of the contract.”