LIS PENDENS DOCTRINE

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Context: Lis pendens essentially means "pending lawsuit" and it impacts property transactions by protecting the rights of those involved in a legal dispute concerning the property.

Key Highlights

• Lis pendens is a doctrine in the Transfer of Property Act (TOPA) that states that if there is a transfer of immovable property during ongoing litigation, the rights of the parties involved in the litigation concerning that property are not affected.
  • The outcome of the ongoing litigation will be binding on the purchaser who bought the property during the pending litigation. This means that the decision made by the court regarding the property's ownership during the litigation will determine the rights of the purchaser.
• Section 52 does not declare transfers made during pending litigation as void or illegal. Instead, it binds the purchaser to the decision made in the ongoing litigation. If the transferor's title to the property is upheld by the court, the purchaser's rights will be protected. However, if the court does not recognize the transferor's title, the purchaser will acquire no rights to the property.
• The principle underlying Section 52 is to prevent the transfer of property during litigation in a way that affects the rights of any party involved in the lawsuit. It ensures that the outcome of the litigation determines the ownership rights of the property.

Source:

Livelaw