2015 Supreme(Del) 3752
DELHI HIGH COURT
Mukta Gupta, J.
Bundu - Appellant
Versus
Shah Alam & Ors. - Resopndent
CM (M) 1167 of 2009
Decided On : 09-03-2015
For the Petitioner:Mr. Dinesh Kumar, Advocate.
For the Respondent No. 2:Mr. M.U. Khan, Advocate.
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the application of Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act in relation to lis pendens depends on the facts and circumstances of each case, and non-parties to the suit cannot be dispossessed without being heard.
Headnote:
Specific Performance - Transfer of Property Act - Section 52 - Summary of Acts and Sections: Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act - The court discussed the application of Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act in relation to lis pendens and its applicability to the case. It also referred to various case laws such as Samee Khan v. Bindu Khan, Sanjay Verma v. Manik Roy and Others, Sarvinder Singh v. Dalip Singh and others, Bindu Khan v. Samee Khan, Sujit Pal v. Prabir Kumar Sun and others, and Savitri Devi v. Civil Judge (Senior Division), Gorakhpur and others to support its decision.
Fact of the Case:
The Petitioner filed a suit seeking specific performance of an Agreement to Sell of immovable property. The Respondent No. 1 put the Petitioner into possession of the property. The Respondent No. 2, a bona fide purchaser, claimed ownership and objected to the warrants of possession.
Finding of the Court:
The court dismissed the petition, stating that the Respondent No. 2, not being a party to the suit, could not be dispossessed from the property. The court withdrew the warrants of possession and listed the matter for hearing the parties on the issue of lis pendens.
Issues: The main issue was the applicability of Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act in relation to lis pendens and whether the Respondent No. 2 could be dispossessed from the property.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the Respondent No. 2, not being a party to the suit, could not be dispossessed from the property. It emphasized the need for the Respondent No. 2 to be heard and considered the withdrawal of the warrants of possession as legal.
Final Decision: The petition was dismissed.
Mukta Gupta, J.
1. The Petitioner/Plaintiff had filed a suit before the learned Trial Court seeking specific performance of an Agreement to Sell of immovable property executed by Respondent/Defendant No. 1 in favour of the Petitioner.
2. It was the case of the Petitioner in the plaint that the Respondent No. 1 had, in pursuance to the Agreement to Sell, put the Petitioner into possession of the property. Along with the suit, an application under Order 39 Rule 1 and 2 CPC was filed wherein the learned Trial Court passed an order dated 31st March, 1989 directing the parties to maintain status-quo in respect of property bearing Stall No. 5, situated at Bengali Market, New Seema Puri, Shahdara, Delhi. The Petitioner claimed that he was dispossessed from the property and on an application of the Petitioner under Order 39 Rule 2A CPC the Respondent No. 1 was held guilty and warrants of his arrest were issued. An order directing the Petitioner to be put back into possession of the property was also passed vide order dated 19th February, 2009 and warrants of possession of the suit property were issued on 2nd May, 2009. The Respondent No. 2 filed objections against the order dated 2nd May, 2009 issuing warrants of possession of the suit property on 13th May, 2009 stating that he had purchased the suit property on 18th April, 1989 and was in possession of the suit property since then. He also disclosed that in the suit, he filed an application under Order 1 Rule 10 CPC on 6th April, 2004 but the same was dismissed by the Court on 4th October, 2004. The Respondent No. 2 being a bona fide purchaser, he could not be dispossessed from the suit property. The said objections of the Respondent No. 2 were allowed vide the impugned order without making any observation regarding the merit of the claim or contention of the plaintiff that principle of lis pendens would apply and hence the present petition. Vide the impugned order the learned Trial Court withdrew the warrants of possession to decide the question of lis-pendens at an appropriate stage and the Respondent No. 1 was granted time to appear before the Court.
3. During the pendency of the present proceedings, it was informed that Shah Alam Respondent No. 1 has since passed away and the learned counsel for the petitioner stated that he did not want to implead the L.Rs. of Shah Alam which is recorded vide Order dated 23rd January, 2013.
4. Learned counsel for the Petitioner contends that the provisions of Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act in relation to lis-pendens would apply against the Respondent No. 2/Objector and the objections are liable to be dismissed in view of his own admission that he purchased the suit property after institution of the suit and after the status quo order dated 31st March, 1989 was passed by the learned Trial Court. Reliance is placed on Samee Khan v. Bindu Khan, AIR 1998 SC 2765; Sanjay Verma v. Manik Roy and Others, 2006 (13) SCC 608; Sarvinder Singh v. Dalip Singh and others, 1996 (5) SCC 539; Bindu Khan v. Samee Khan, AIR 1998 Rajasthan 115; Sujit Pal v. Prabir Kumar Sun and others, AIR 1986 Calcutta 220 and Savitri Devi v. Civil Judge (Senior Division), Gorakhpur and others, AIR 2003 Allahabad 321.
5. Learned counsel for the Respondent No. 2/Objector on the other hand contends that the Objector was not a party to the suit and was not made a party to the suit despite his having filed an application for impleadment and therefore, he cannot be dispossessed from the suit property under Order 39 Rule 2A CPC and only the Respondent No. 1 was liable to be proceeded against under Order 39 Rule 2A for whom warrants of arrest had already been issued.
6. Vide the impugned order learned Trial Court has not decided the plea of lis pendens and has noted that the same will be decided at appropriate stage. The impugned order only recalls the order issuing warrants of possession.
7. In Samee Khan (supra) the Supreme Court while dealing with the power of Court und