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Quick Answer
Lis pendens (Latin: pending suit) prevents litigants from frustrating the court's eventual judgment by transferring the property mid-suit. A buyer who acquires property subject to lis pendens takes the property burdened with whatever the eventual judgment decides. Lis pendens search is non-negotiable in property due diligence; the search must cover (i) Sub-Registrar's index for registered transactions; (ii) district court CIS for civil suits; (iii) HC CIS for writ petitions and original-side suits; (iv) NCLT records for IBC proceedings affecting corporate sellers.
Statutory reference
Section 52 Transfer of Property Act 1882
Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act makes any transfer of disputed property during a pending suit subject to the suit's outcome — the buyer steps into the seller's shoes and is bound by the decree, without needing to be a party. For a litigant, the working consequence is protective: a defendant cannot defeat your property suit by selling to a third party mid-way. For a buyer, it is a due-diligence command: search for pending litigation before paying, because 'I didn't know about the case' is no defence. In states like Maharashtra, a notice of lis pendens can be registered so it surfaces in the property's search; elsewhere, litigation searches on e-Courts and a careful reading of the plaint schedule do the work. Lawyers pursuing property suits routinely pair the doctrine with an express injunction against alienation — the doctrine binds a purchaser, but the injunction deters the sale itself.
Worked example
Mid-way through a partition suit over a Ghaziabad plot, one brother sells 'his' share of the undivided property to an investor at a discount. The investor registers the sale deed and starts fencing the plot. The other siblings do nothing special — they simply implead the investor and proceed. When the final decree allots that portion of the plot to a sister, the investor's purchase stands subject to the decree under Section 52: he acquired only what his seller was finally held to own, which is a different, smaller parcel. His remedy is a refund fight against his own seller. The discount, it turns out, was the price of the pending suit he never searched for.
Related practice areas
Doctrine under Section 52 TPA — during the pendency of a suit involving immovable property, no party can transfer the property to defeat the rights of any other party in the suit. Buyer takes property burdened with judgment.
Lis Pendens is governed by Section 52 Transfer of Property Act 1882. Lis pendens (Latin: pending suit) prevents litigants from frustrating the court's eventual judgment by transferring the property mid-suit. A buyer who acquires property subject to lis pendens takes the property burdened with whatever the eventual judgment decides. Lis pendens search is non-negotiable in property due diligence; the search must cover (i) Sub-Registrar's index for registered transactions; (ii) district court CIS for civil suits; (iii) HC CIS for writ petitions and original-side suits; (iv) NCLT records for IBC proceedings affecting corporate sellers.
Lis Pendens falls under Property & Real Estate. NyaySevak matches you with a Bar-Council-verified advocate in the relevant practice area — your first step is a free case assessment with no obligation.
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