1. Sale of Entire Adjacent Agricultural Plot My late father, who likely inherited the property from my grandfather, was the original owner of several agricultural plots. During his lifetime, he executed separate deeds to distribute these lands among me and my brothers. As a result, each of us now owns individual, separately registered agricultural plots, which are adjacent to each other. These plots are NOT held jointly. Recently, one of my brothers sold his entire plot—adjacent to mine—to a third party, despite my willingness to purchase it. This was done without informing or offering it to me. I understand that under Section 8 of the WBLR Act, the right of pre-emption applies to co-sharers or adjacent landholders only when part of a plot is sold—not the entire holding. Query 1: Can I still claim pre-emption as an adjacent landowner in this case? If not, is there any legal remedy to repurchase the land from the third party? 2. Anticipated Transfer of Undivided Share in Ancestral House (Vastu Land) Our ancestral residential property (Vastu land) is held jointly and remains undivided among all brothers. This land was inherited from our late father and has not been partitioned. The same brother who sold his individual agricultural plot without informing us now lives separately and is not in close contact with the rest of the family. We are concerned that he may attempt to sell or transfer his undivided share in this joint property to a third party. We understand that if the transfer is made through a sale deed, the remaining co-sharers can exercise their pre-emption right under the WBLR Act. However, we have been advised that if the share is transferred through a gift deed, the right of pre-emption may not be applicable. Query 2: Is there any legal safeguard we can take to prevent him from transferring his undivided share (e.g., through a gift deed) to bypass our pre-emption rights?
File suit for partition for division of ancestral properties by metes and bounds
2) seek injunction restraining sale of properties by your brother pending hearing and final disposal of suit
3) you can offer third party premium amount to buy sold property from third party
You cannot claim pre-emption rights on a neighbor's land that has already been sold under the West Bengal Land Reforms Act (WBLR Act). The WBLR Act grants pre-emption rights to co-sharers and contiguous owners to purchase land being sold by their neighbors, but it applies before the sale is finalized, not after it.
The right of pre-emption is typically invoked before a sale is completed. Once the sale is finalized, the right to pre-empt is usually lost.
You can claim pre-emption rights in ancestral property in West Bengal, even if it hasn't been partitioned yet. The right of pre-emption, also known as the right of first refusal, allows a co-owner to purchase the share of another co-owner before it's sold to an outsider. This right applies to undivided ancestral property, meaning it can be exercised even before a formal partition of the property is made.
If you (as a co-owner) wish to exercise your pre-emption right, you'll typically need to:
Be informed about the sale or offer.
Express your willingness to purchase the share.
Offer to pay the price the seller is willing to accept.
If other co-owners also wish to purchase, the legal rules will determine who has the priority.
If your request for purchase is likely to be ignored you may file a suit for injunction to restrain the cosharers from alienating the ancestral undivided property from being sold to a third party before you decline the offer.
@T Kalaiselvan- You have mentioned that -"If your request for purchase is likely to be ignored you may file a suit for injunction to restrain the cosharers from alienating the ancestral undivided property from being sold to a third party before you decline the offer." If the request is ignored and the land is immediately transferred , can I exercise pre-emtion right? If the answer is YES , why I cannot exercise pre-emption right for the first case as I expressed interest to buy the same before the sale was finalized to third party?
Hon'ble Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya in the case of Kinkar Mahato vs. Sahan Mahato; [2005 SCC OnLine Cal 21 : (2005) 3 ICC 5 (Cal) held thus :
"14. Section 8 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act makes it clear that the right of pre-emption can be exercised either by the co-sharer raiyat or by the adjoining land owner or by the bargadar only when a portion or share of a plot of land of raiyat is transferred to any person other than the co-sharer raiyat in the plot of land.
15. The said provision makes it clear that it is only when a co-sharer raiyat transfers a portion of the share of his interest in the plot of land, then only, the right of pre-emption can be exercised by the aforesaid persons."
5. Having held thus in paragraph 18 Hon'ble Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya has held thus:
"18. Now applying the said test, it appears that the entire interest of the raiyat in the plot of land in question was sold by raiyat in favour of the pre-emptees. As such, the right to exercise pre- emption has not accrued in favour of the pre- emptees."
In the first case regarding the sale of your brother’s entire adjacent agricultural plot, you cannot claim the right of pre-emption under Section 8 of the West Bengal Land Reforms (WBLR) Act, 1955. The law allows pre-emption only when a part of a holding is sold—not the entire plot. Since your brother sold his entire holding, your status as an adjacent landowner does not grant you any legal remedy under this provision. However, if there was any element of fraud, coercion, or material suppression, you may explore civil remedies through court, though success is not guaranteed.
In the second case concerning the potential transfer of your brother’s undivided share in the ancestral residential (Vastu) property, pre-emption rights under the WBLR Act apply only if he sells his share, not if he gifts it. A gift deed does not constitute a sale, so co-sharers like you cannot exercise pre-emption in such a scenario. To safeguard your interests, you may consider filing a partition suit to divide the property formally, which would prevent him from gifting or selling an undivided share. Additionally, you may approach the civil court for an injunction to restrain any such transfer until partition is complete. These steps can help you protect the family property and maintain your legal rights.
The provision of law applicable to residential property among Hindu joint family is Section 22 of Hindu Succession Act. If anyone joint owner intents to sell his share, other joint owners have preferential right to purchase the same. You need to file a suit seeking first offer to purchase the property seeking injunction against any sale to third parties pending adjudication of your right. You can exercise your right before property is actually transferred even if sale is finalized.
You have three months from the date of transfer to challenge the sale of agricultural land, you need to deposit the amount of consideration+10 percent. Section 8 is applicable to even whole land not a portion of land.
Section 8 of WBLR act if got co sharer and as per you the property is already partitioned
- As per law, in West Bengal, the right of pre-emption allows a co-owner to purchase property before it can be sold to someone outside the family or co-ownership.
- Further, as per the Limitation Act, the limitation period is one year for filing of suit for pre-emption, and 3 years for non-notified co-sharers.
1. Yes, but within one year
2. Since, the said property is not partition , then any of your brother can file an Injunction suit before the Court for restraining him to sell that property
3. Reply NO.2
In the first case you have stated that you were willing to purchase but what prevented you from taking appropriate legal action to object the selling despite your request to buy it and nothing prevented you to file a civil suit within one year from the date of selling the property to set aside the sale deed on this ground.
You may please note that, the right of pre-emption is typically invoked before a sale is completed. Once the sale is finalized, the right to pre-empt is usually lost. The WBLR Act grants pre-emption rights to co-sharers and contiguous owners to purchase land being sold by their neighbors, but it applies before the sale is finalized, not after it.
However as far as the ancestral proeprty is concerned, it is yet to be partitioned.
You can claim pre-emption rights in ancestral property in West Bengal, even if it hasn't been partitioned yet. The right of pre-emption, also known as the right of first refusal, allows a co-owner to purchase the share of another co-owner before it's sold to an outsider. This right applies to undivided ancestral property, meaning it can be exercised even before a formal partition of the property is made.
First Matter: Just to clarify, in the first case, the sale deed of conveyance was executed only 45 days ago, and the Record of Rights (Parcha) was updated just one week ago. Does this mean that the sale is now considered legally complete? The execution of the sale deed was carried out without informing us, so we were unaware of the transaction and unable to take any steps prior to its execution. Second Matter: In the second case, we understand that a transfer of undivided share is also possible. How can we prevent such a transfer? Specifically, if a gift deed is executed to transfer the undivided share instead of a sale deed — with the intention of bypassing the right of pre-emption — what legal steps can we take to safeguard our interest? At this stage, if we file a partition suit and the undivided house (Vastu land) gets partitioned, and his specific share is identified, he would then be able to freely transfer or sell that portion. This is precisely why we have not filed a partition suit so far — as doing so might actually work against our own interests. Given this concern, I am seeking very specific legal advice on how best to proceed in this matter. Is it possible to create a trust in the name of my late father and request all siblings to transfer their respective shares into the trust, so that no one can sell or transfer their share individually in the future? I believe that the brother who is currently not in contact with us — and who may potentially intend to sell his share — would find it difficult to openly refuse this proposal. If he does choose to reject the idea of creating the trust, it would clearly reveal his intentions. What are your thoughts on this approach?
1) once conveyance deed is executed duly stamped and registered title on the land passes on to buyer .sale is complete
2) you should file partition suit
3) seek stay pending hearing and final disposal
4) partition suit takes 15 years to be disposed of
5) trust can be created if all siblings are agreeable
1. In the first case you are still within limitation. Limitation is counted from the date of knowledge.
2. In the second case, right of preemption is independent of right to property by partition. Such right is not affected by partition. In the suit for partition you can claim preferential right to purchase the property.
In the normal situation the sale of property by executing a registered sale deed is considered to be complete. In your case you have not expressed your willingness to purchase the neighbor's plot before he looked for a prospective buyer outside, henc you may have lost your preemption rights in this regard.
About the ancestral property, under the Hindu Succession Act, co-owners of ancestral undivided property typically have pre-emption rights.
This means if one co-owner wishes to sell their share, they are required to first offer it to the other co-owners before selling it to an outsider.
The purpose of pre-emption rights in ancestral property is to give the co-owners the first option to buy, the property is less likely to be split up among multiple owners, which can lead to disputes and inefficiencies.
It ensures that the co-owners have a chance to maintain their share of the property and avoid unwanted ownership from strangers.
When a co-owner decides to sell their share, they must first offer it to the other co-owners at the same price.
If the other co-owners refuse to exercise their pre-emption right, the seller is then free to sell the share to an outsider.
Therefore there is no danger about the denial of preemption rights in filing a suit for partition.
You cannot compel other cosharers to transfer their respective share in the ancestral property into a trust for any reason, if one of them is not agreeing then you may have to leave him and his share alone while forming the proposed trust, then also your purpose will be defeated.
In cases of disputes or disagreements, the courts may intervene to resolve the matter and ensure that the pre-emption rights are properly exercised.
- Since, the sale deed is executed just 45 days ago, then you have right to challenge the same legally
- In the second case , you can approach the Court for getting an Stay in the transfer of the share on the ground of right of pre-emption.
- Yes, if he will got the share by way of a Partition suit then he will have his legal right to sell the same to anyone without getting consent of others.
- Yes, you can create a Trust if all the beneficiaries are agree for the same.
Yes you can create a trust