When Lis Pendens Ends: Bombay High Court Brings Clarity to Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act.
When Lis Pendens Ends: Bombay High Court Litigation over property can often stretch across decades—dragging on like a shadow over the rights of buyers, owners, and investors. But what happens when the very nature of that litigation changes over time? Can the law continue to hold up property transactions even when the dispute is no longer really about the property? In a pivotal judgment, the Bombay High Court , through Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh , has shed light on this grey area, providing much-needed clarity on when the doctrine of lis pendens ceases to apply under Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act . What is Lis Pendens All About? To understand the judgment, let’s first unpack the doctrine of lis pendens . The term literally means “litigation pending.” Under Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 , if a property is the subject of a legal dispute, neither party can transfer or deal with it in a way that could affect the rights of the other...