Sale of land made during pendency of litigation is subject to the outcome of the lawsuit

.This means the buyer is bound by the court's decision, even if they weren't aware of the suit at the time of purchase, and they will only acquire the rights that are ultimately granted to the seller by the court.

During the pendency of any suit or proceeding in which any right to immovable property is directly and specifically in question, the property cannot be transferred or otherwise dealt with by any party to the suit so as to affect the rights of any other party under any decree or order that may be made therein — except with the authority of the court.

No doubt the sale is not void but voidable and not binding on you.

The transaction is not illegal but it will not affect your rights.

If the decision in the appeal comes in your favour then it will be binding on the wife of respondent too.

It’s valid unless there is no injunction order. The effect will depend on the result of the court order 

Hello,

1. The sale transaction will be valid during the pendency of the Appeal, however, the Power of Attorney of the party is bound by the outcome of the Appeal and the stay order for now.
2. It is advisable that your lawyer notifies the PoA about the stay granted by the appellate court.
3. If you succeed in the Appeal, the sale transaction will become void.

Dear Client, in your case, since the agricultural land is under litigation and you have already obtained a temporary stay order in appeal, any sale transaction executed during the pendency of the case—such as your opponent transferring the land to his wife through a registered Power of Attorney—will generally be governed by the doctrine of lis pendens under Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. This means that while the sale itself is not automatically void, it is subject to the outcome of the pending litigation, and the purchaser (in this case, the opponent’s wife) cannot claim an independent right overriding the final court decision. Essentially, any such transfer will stand only if the final judgment upholds the transferor’s ownership rights. I hope this answer helps. For any more queries, do not hesitate to contact us.

The sale transaction made during the pendency of litigation is governed by Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, known as the doctrine of Lis pendens.

According to this doctrine, any transfer or sale of property during an ongoing court case affecting that property is not void but is subject to the final outcome of the case. This means your opponent’s sale to his wife through Power of Attorney and registered deed is not automatically invalid, but the buyer (his wife) cannot claim ownership free from the result of the litigation.

Since you already have a temporary stay, the transaction made during litigation can be challenged as a violation of lis pendens, and you can request the appellate court to declare the sale as non-binding until the dispute is finally decided.

A sale made during pending litigation is not void, but it is hit by lis pendens (TPA §52)—so the buyer (even spouse) takes it subject to the final decree and cannot defeat your rights. Implead the transferee (wife), seek status-quo/injunction, and have mutation kept in abeyance. If any prior stay/status-quo order existed, the sale can attract contempt/be set aside. India Code+2Indian Kanoon+2

Note on “POA sale”: A GPA/SA/Will by itself doesn’t convey title; only a registered sale deed executed under a valid, registered POA does. Check what exactly was executed.

Since, you got temporary stay , then during the litigation , other party cannot any sale transaction of this land. 

1. You should have taken an interim stay order restricting the other side from selling the said property till the case is disposed off.

2. If no interim stay order has been taken, he is not restrained from selling it or any part of it though it will be considered as a very disputable practice.

In your situation, the key point is that the sale transaction took place during the pendency of litigation before the SDM — that means it is covered under the doctrine of lis pendens, as laid down under Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.

What this section basically says is that once a case about a particular immovable property is pending before a competent court, no party has the right to transfer or sell that property in a way that affects the rights of the other party under litigation. So, even if your opponent registered a Power of Attorney and his attorney (wife) executed a sale deed, that transfer does not become void, but it becomes subject to the outcome of the pending litigation.

That means — the sale is not illegal per se, but it has no overriding effect on your rights if later the court decides in your favour. The purchaser (his wife, in this case) will simply step into his shoes and will be bound by whatever final decision comes in the appeal.

Since you already have a temporary stay from the appellate authority, you should immediately file an application in the same appeal to bring this fact on record — that a sale deed was executed during the pendency of the litigation — and seek a specific direction restraining further alienation or mutation in the revenue records till disposal of the appeal.

Also, in your written submissions, make sure you highlight that the Power of Attorney and the sale deed were both executed after the case was reserved for judgment, which shows clear mala fide intent to defeat your rights. That strengthens your argument that the transfer was in violation of lis pendens and cannot affect your lawful claim.

In summary:
– The sale is not void, but not binding on you — it’s subject to the appeal’s outcome.
– The purchaser (his wife) gets no independent right better than the seller had.
– You should immediately move for an order restraining further transfer or mutation.

So practically, your position is safe as long as the appeal is pending and the stay continues — the transaction during litigation cannot take away your legal rights over that land.

A sale performed during pendency of litigation is subject to the final outcome of litigation as per Section 54 of Transfer of Property Act. This is doctrine of lis pendens. Sale done before you got stay order is not ipso facto illegal.

Under Indian law, the controlling provision is Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. This section embodies the doctrine known as Lis Pendens (meaning “during the pendency of a suit”). It provides that when any right to immovable property is directly and specifically in question in a legal proceeding, any transfer of that property made by a party to the proceeding during its pendency shall not affect the rights of any other party under any decree or order that may be made therein. The object of this doctrine is to maintain the status quo of the property until the dispute is finally decided, so that the court’s decision is not rendered ineffective by private transfers.

In practical terms, this means that although a transfer made during the pendency of litigation is not void or illegal, it is subordinate to the outcome of the case. The transferee merely steps into the shoes of the transferor and is bound by the eventual result of the litigation. If the party who sold the property ultimately loses the case, the purchaser gains nothing from that sale. The courts have consistently applied this principle, holding that a purchaser pendente lite is not a bona fide purchaser and cannot claim rights higher than those of the litigating party who sold the property. (See Jayaram Mudaliar v. Ayyaswami & Ors., AIR 1973 SC 569; A. Nagaraj v. B.R. Vasudeva Murthy, (2010) 3 SCC 353.)

Therefore, in your case, the Power of Attorney and the subsequent sale deed executed in favour of the opponent’s wife were made during the pendency of the litigation and are subject to the principle of Lis Pendens. The sale cannot defeat the pending case or any decree that may ultimately be passed in your favour. Even if the sale deed is registered, the transferee (the wife) acquires no independent title beyond that of her husband, and her rights will be governed entirely by the final outcome of the case and any appellate decision.

Since your appeal has been admitted and a stay order has been granted, the litigation is legally deemed to be continuing. Consequently, the Lis Pendens effect still applies. If the appellate court later modifies or reverses the SDM’s decision, the sale transaction executed during litigation will automatically be subject to that appellate decree. The transferee cannot claim to be an innocent purchaser without notice, because the pendency of proceedings in a public court serves as constructive notice to the world at large.

You are therefore advised to immediately file an application before the appellate authority bringing the sale transaction on record. In that application, annex copies of the sale deed and Power of Attorney, and request the court to record that the transaction was executed pendente lite and shall be subject to the final decision of the appeal. The appellate court has the power to declare that the purchaser is bound by the outcome of the litigation and cannot claim independent rights.

If any mutation or revenue entry has been made in the transferee’s name pursuant to that sale, you may also file an objection before the Tehsildar or Revenue Officer enclosing a copy of the appellate stay order, stating that the matter is sub judice and that no mutation should be effected until the appeal is finally decided. The revenue authorities are required to maintain status quo where litigation is pending.

To summarise, the sale executed by your opponent’s attorney in favour of his wife during the pendency of the case is not void but is hit by Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act and is therefore ineffective against you until final adjudication. The purchaser will be bound by the result of the appeal. The appropriate course is to place this fact formally before the appellate court so that the sale is recorded as subject to lis pendens and cannot prejudice your rights.

it is valid subjected to the final outcome of the case.

it will be better to file a civil suit before the competent civil court for declaration of that sale deed to be declare as null and void