lis pendens
Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 provides that during the pendency of a suit in which a right to immovable property is directly and specifically in question, the property cannot be transferred or otherwise dealt with by any party so as to affect the rights of any other party under the decree, except with the court’s authority. The transfer is not void; it is subject to the result of the litigation.
The doctrine rests on necessity and public policy: otherwise no suit could succeed if the defendant could alienate the property during it. The transferee’s good faith or lack of notice is irrelevant. Pendency runs from the presentation of the plaint until final disposal, including appeals and execution.
Example
The buyer who purchased while the partition suit was pending was bound by the decree under the doctrine of lis pendens.
In Indian law
- Section 52, Transfer of Property Act, 1882
- Bellamy v. Sabine (Court of Appeal in Chancery, England, 1857): basis of the doctrine
See also
pendente lite · transfer of property · immovable property · res sub judice
Read more in the study notes
- Need for ADR, international commitments and suitability of disputes (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
- Lending by banks: principles, priority sector, securities, interest and penalty (Banking Law)
- Default and recovery: Debts Recovery Tribunals and the SARFAESI Act (Banking Law)
- Suits by or against firms, minors and persons of unsound mind, indigent persons, and interpleader suits (Civil Procedure Code and Limitation Act)
- Conveyancing principles and the sale deed (Drafting, Pleading and Conveyance)
- Joint Hindu family and coparcenary (Family Law I - Hindu Law)