IMPORTANT POINT
1. Alienation will in no manner affect the rights of the other party under any decree which may be passed in the suit unless the property was alienated with the permission of the Court.
2. Trite law that if a person is not a party to a suit, the decree does not affect him unless the judgment is in rem and not in personem.

JUDGMENT

Dr. Arijit Pasayat, J. - Leave granted.

2. Challenge in this appeal is to the order passed by a learned Single Judge of the Jharkhand High Court allowing application filed by the respondents in terms of Order I Rule 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (in short the ‘CPC’). The applicants are transferees of the property in dispute during the pendency of the suit.

3. Background facts in a nutshell are as follows:

Appellant filed a suit for specific performance of contract against one Rajeshwari Devi, respondent No.3. The suit is numbered as Title Suit No. 88 of 1991. The prayer in the suit was for a decree against the defendant for specific performance of agreements dated 25.12.1986 and 27.12.1990 by directing to the defendant No.1 to execute registered sale deeds. Further declaration was sought for to the effect that said defendant No.1 had no right to execute four sale deeds in favour of defendants 2, 3, 4 and 5. Permanent injunction was also sought for restraining the defendants from interfering in any manner in the peaceful possession of the plaintiff.

4. During the pendency of the suit an application in terms of Order XXXIX Rules 1and 2 read with Section 151 CPC was filed on behalf of appellant for temporary injunction. Learned Subordinate Judge-I, Dhanbad granted temporary injunction in favour of the appellant. After the order of injunction was passed, Smt. Vinaya Devi, Defendant (respondent No.4 herein) transferred a portion of suit land in favour of one Mihir Kumar Chakraborty by Sale Deed dated 16.3.1993. Defendant Sanjay Prasad also transferred a portion of suit land in favour of one Shyam Kumar Datta by registered Sale Deed dated 13.7.1993. On 3.12.1997 said Shyam Kumar Datta further transferred a portion of the suit land in favour of respondent No.1-Manik Roy and Mihir Kumar Chakraborty vide registered sale deed dated 3.12.1997. The respondents filed an application in terms of Order I, Rule 10(2) CPC on 20.8.2005 for impleadment to contest the suit and to permit them to file written statement. Learned Subordinate Judge held that both Smt. Ahilya Jha and Manik Roy had admittedly purchased the suit property after 1991 without obtaining leave of the court and thus the transfer is pendente lite and is clearly hit by Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (in short the ‘TP Act’). It was further observed that Manik Roy had purchased the property on 3.12.1997. Ahilaya Jha applicant had purchased the portion of the suit property on 9.12.2000. The trial Court, therefore, rejected the prayer for impleadment. Being aggrieved by the order dated 16.1.2006 respondents Manik Roy and Ahilaya Jha filed a writ petition before the High Court which allowed the writ petition holding that the respondents’ vendors were not parties to the suit and there was nobody to represent and safeguard their interest and therefore they are required to be added as parties in the suit for the ends of justice.

5. The High Court also noted that the trial Court had not considered the effect of the fact that the respondents’ vendors are not parties to the suit and there was no representation of the writ petitioners and their vendors in the suit.

6. In support of the appeal, learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the effect of Section 52 of the T.P. Act has been completely lost sight of.

7. Learned counsel for the respondents on the other hand submitted that plaintiff Sanjay is none other than the son of late M.M. Sharma, who was an advocate who had appeared for defendant Rajeshwari Devi in a suit for specific performance which was decreed in favour of said Rajeshwari Devi on 23.12.1986. A few days thereafter taking advantage of the professional relationship between late Sh. M.M. Sharma, father of the appellant and Smt. Rajeshwari Devi, the agreements in question were executed. There has been a series of transactions and neither Rajeshwari Devi nor the vendors of the respondents had shown any interest in the dispute. That bein