Doctrine of Lis Pendens:
The Supreme Court has reiterated that once a transaction is found to be hit by the doctrine of lis pendens, then the defences of being a bona fide purchaser and lack of notice regarding the sale agreement are not available.
- Lis pendens in common parlance means “a pending legal action”.
- The maxim representing this doctrine means that ‘during the pendency of litigation, nothing new should be introduced, and to maintain the status quo, to abstain from doing anything which may affect any party to the litigation.
- It is based on the principle that during the pendency of a suit, the subject matter of it (i.e. the property in the suit) should not be transferred to a third party.
- It is dealt with in Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, which provides that if there is any transfer of any immovable property pending litigation, the same shall not affect the rights of the parties in respect to the immovable property.
- The outcome of the litigation, passed by a court of competent jurisdiction, in the matter during the pendency of which the transfer had taken place would be binding upon such a purchaser, who has purchased the property during the pending litigation.
- It serves to protect the rights and interests of parties involved in a pending law suit concerning a specific property.
- The effect of the rule of lis pendens is not to invalidate or avoid the transfer but to make it subject to the result of the litigation.
- According to this rule, therefore, whosoever purchases property during the pendency of a suit is bound by the judgment that may be made against the person from whom he derived the title, even though such a purchaser was not a party to the action or had no notice of the pending litigation.
