The court affirms that a property purchased at a court auction during a pending specific performance suit is subject to the outcome of the litigation.
In a significant ruling, the Allahabad High Court, presided over by Justice Arun Kumar, upheld the decrees of the lower courts granting specific performance of a property sale agreement and reinforced the application of the doctrine of lis pendens to court auction purchases. The judgment was delivered on August 12, 2026, in the second appeal case of Chhajju Ram v. Babu Singh.
The dispute centered around an agricultural land plot in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, originally owned by Nawab Singh. Nawab Singh had allegedly entered into an agreement to sell the land to Babu Singh in 1972, which led to a suit for specific performance being filed in 1973 due to non-execution of the sale deed. Meanwhile, Chhajju Ram, having obtained a money decree against Nawab Singh, purchased the property in a court auction in 1974.
Chhajju Ram challenged the lower courts' concurrent decisions favoring Babu Singh, arguing that the doctrine of lis pendens was misapplied and that the agreement was fabricated. He also contended that the order from the execution proceedings, where Babu Singh's objections were dismissed, should operate as res judicata, barring the specific performance suit.
Justice Kumar clarified that the doctrine of lis pendens applies not only to voluntary transfers but also to involuntary ones like court auctions. Therefore, the auction purchaser acquires the property subject to the pending litigation's outcome. The court further held that the execution proceeding's order did not constitute res judicata on the specific performance suit, as the execution order's conclusiveness was limited to attachment and sale issues, not the entire contractual claim.
The ruling emphasized that the plaintiff, Babu Singh, had established his entitlement to specific performance, with the courts below finding the agreement genuine and the plaintiff ready and willing to perform his contractual obligations. The court also dismissed the appellant's claims of procedural flaws in the first appellate judgment and affirmed that the discretion exercised by the lower courts in granting specific performance was sound and equitable.
This judgment reinforces the legal principle that auction purchasers must be aware that their acquisitions are subject to existing litigations, potentially impacting the title's finality. The case underscores the importance of the doctrine of lis pendens in ensuring that litigants cannot be prejudiced by transfers made during the pendency of a case.
Bottom Line :
Doctrine of lis pendens applies to court auctions conducted during the pendency of a specific performance suit, and the auction purchaser acquires the property subject to the outcome of the litigation.
Statutory provision(s):
Transfer of Property Act, 1882 Section 52; Civil Procedure Code, 1908 Section 100; Civil Procedure Code, 1908 Order XXI Rule 58 (Pre-amendment) and Rule 63; Specific Relief Act, 1963
Chhajju Ram v. Babu Singh, (Allahabad) : Law Finder Doc id # 2960078
