You can apply to the Tehsil/court for a further amendment of the preliminary decree to reflect this second sale

2) , subsequent purchasers during a pending partition (pendente lite) can step into the shoes of the selling co-sharer. The court generally allows equities to be worked out before the kurre (allotment of specific portions) are finalized.

3) It is a well-established legal principle in partition suits that the court has the jurisdiction to adjust shares and allot portions to a third party (such as your mother) who has purchased a co-sharer's interest during the pendency of the suit. The fact that she was not an original party or co-sharer does not prohibit her from being impleaded and having her purchased share recognized in the final decree. 

A preliminary decree in a partition suit is not final in the sense that it completely terminates the court's jurisdiction over changes in ownership structure. Until the Final Decree (F-Decree) is passed and physical possession is handed over through kurre (allotment of specific lots), the suit/proceeding remains pending. Under procedural law (specifically the principles under Order 22, Rule 10 of the Civil Procedure Code or equivalent revenue code provisions), when a transfer of interest takes place pendente lite (during the pendency of proceedings), the court has the power to recognize the transfer and modify or adjust shares before framing the final decree.

A third-party purchaser acquires all the rights, title, and interest that the selling co-sharer possessed in that specific share. Your mother steps into the shoes of the seller to the extent of the share purchased. Since your mother was not an original party to the partition suit, you should file an application along with the amendment request to implead (add) your mother as a respondent/party to the proceedings.

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A co-sharer has every legal right to sell or transfer their undivided share (or a portion of it) at any stage, even to an opposing party or an outsider.Since the seller is an active petitioner/party in the same suit, executed a registered sale deed, and the mutation has already been sanctioned in the revenue records, they are legally bound (estopped) from denying the transaction in the same court.

File an Application for Impleadment & Amendment  to add your mother as a party (transferee pendente lite).

You may pray for a consequential amendment in the amended preliminary decree to re-determine the updated numerical shares of all parties.

You may request the Tehsildar/Court that the shares standing in the names of your father, your mother, and your family be allotted together in a single contiguous block (patti) during the preparation of kurre.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Yes, you may apply for impleadment of your mother and modification of the preliminary decree before the final partition/kurra is completed. A preliminary decree in a partition case can be modified due to a later transfer of share.

Your mother’s earlier non-co-sharer status is not a bar; through the registered sale deed she has acquired the seller’s interest, subject to the pending proceedings. The seller being a petitioner also creates no legal obstacle.

File an application with the registered sale deed, mutation order and amended revenue records before preparation of the final decree.

Advocate Saurabh Agrawal

1. Can we apply for a further amendment of the preliminary decree to reflect the second sale?
Yes, you can apply for a further amendment. In partition suits, the proceedings continue until the final decree is passed, and the court retains the power to modify the preliminary decree to account for intervening events. The Karnataka High Court has clarified that Order 20 Rule 18 CPC creates no impediment to passing more than one preliminary decree if events after the initial decree necessitate readjustment of shares. Since your final decree (kurre/allotment) has not yet been prepared, the court can certainly take cognizance of this second sale. You should file an appropriate application (I.A.) before the Tehsil/court, placing the registered sale deed on record and seeking modification of the preliminary decree to reflect the reduced share of the seller and the corresponding acquisition by your mother. The court is duty-bound to consider such changes before finalising allotment.

2. Any legal difficulty because the purchaser (mother) was not an original co-sharer?
This does not create an insurmountable obstacle. A transferee of an undivided share during pending partition proceedings is a "transferee pendente lite" and is entitled to come on record to work out equity in the final decree proceedings. The Supreme Court has held that such purchasers, having purchased from co-sharers, are entitled to be impleaded to protect their interests. While your mother was not an original party, she has acquired a vested interest in the suit property through a registered sale deed, and mutation has already been completed in her name. Courts generally treat subsequent purchasers as proper parties whose presence is crucial for complete adjudication. The only procedural requirement is that she must be impleaded as a party to the proceedings so that her rights can be duly considered while allotting specific portions.

3. Does the seller being a petitioner/opposing party create any obstacle?
No, it does not create an obstacle; in fact, it strengthens your position. The seller, being a co-sharer and a party to the suit, had every right to transfer their undivided share, and courts have held that co-sharers cannot be restrained from transferring their unpartitioned share. Since the seller is already before the court, there is no difficulty in the court taking cognizance of their own sale deed. The principle of lis pendens (Section 52 of Transfer of Property Act) applies, but that only means the purchaser's rights are subject to the final outcome of the suit—it does not prevent recognition of the purchase. The court cannot ignore a transaction executed by a party to the suit itself. You should promptly file an application to implead your mother and modify the preliminary decree, annexing the sale deed and mutation order. The seller cannot now be heard to object to a transaction they themselves executed.