Lis Pendens: Why Buying a Disputed Property Binds You to the Verdict

A buyer in east Bengaluru completed a resale purchase, moved in, and two years later received a court notice. The flat he had bought in good faith was the subject of a lawsuit that predated his purchase, and the seller had simply not mentioned it. Because the sale had happened while the case was pending, the buyer was now bound by whatever the court eventually decided, even though he had known nothing about the dispute. This is the doctrine of lis pendens at work, and it is one of the most important and least understood risks in buying any resale property.

The short answer. Under Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, if you buy a property while a lawsuit over it is pending, the sale is not void, but you are bound by whatever the court finally decides, and crucially your lack of knowledge of the case is no defence. The practical protection is to search for litigation before you buy, through court records, title and encumbrance checks, and a written declaration from the seller that no dispute is pending. The trade off is diligence against risk, a litigation search takes time and often a lawyer, but it is the only way to avoid inheriting a case that can cost you the home.

What is the doctrine of lis pendens?

Lis pendens, meaning a pending suit, is the rule in Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act that a property which is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit cannot be transferred in a way that defeats the rights decided in that suit. The transfer itself is not declared void, so the sale can go through, but it is made subject to the outcome of the litigation. In plain terms, you can buy such a property, but you step into the shoes of the seller as far as the court case is concerned.

The effect is that a buyer during the pendency of a suit is bound by the final decision, even losing the property if the court rules against the seller's side. A recent Bombay High Court matter, Alka Shrirang Chavan against Hemchandra Rajaram Bhonsale, saw buyers who had purchased part of a property during a pending suit unable to escape the resulting decree. You can read an analysis of the doctrine and that ruling on this note on lis pendens and buyer liability.

Why can your lack of knowledge not save you?

The doctrine applies regardless of whether you knew about the case, which is what makes it so important for buyers. The rule works in the background and attaches to the transfer automatically, so a buyer who genuinely had no idea a suit was pending is bound just the same as one who knew. This is deliberate, because the purpose of the doctrine is to stop a party to a suit from defeating the case by selling the property to someone else while it is being heard. Without such a rule, any defendant who feared losing a property suit could simply sell to a stranger and argue that the new owner, being innocent, should keep the property, which would make the court case pointless. Lis pendens closes that escape route, and the price of closing it is paid by the unwary buyer who did not check.

For a buyer, the hard lesson is that good faith is not a shield here. You cannot rely on the seller's silence or your own ignorance, because neither protects you from the court's decision. The only real protection is to find out about any litigation yourself, before you commit, rather than discovering it in a notice after you have moved in.

How do you check for pending litigation?

You check through a combination of records and declarations, because no single source is complete. Start with a thorough title search and an encumbrance certificate, which can reveal registered charges and sometimes flag disputes, then have a lawyer search the relevant court records for any suit involving the property or the seller. A careful lawyer will also look for any registered notice of a pending suit where local rules provide for one.

Alongside the records, get the seller to declare in writing that the property is free of any pending litigation, since a false declaration gives you a clear remedy against them. Our guides on the encumbrance certificate and title search in Karnataka cover the records side, and these searches together are what turn an invisible risk into something you can see before you pay.

What is a caveat, and how does it relate?

A caveat is a related tool, a formal notice that someone anticipating litigation files so that a court will hear them before passing any order in a matter. It is relevant to this topic because the world of pending and anticipated disputes is wider than a single suit, and a property can be caught up in proceedings a casual check would miss. The mechanics of caveats are technical, so treat them as a reason to involve a lawyer rather than something to navigate alone.

The practical point for a buyer is that litigation risk is not always visible on the face of the documents, and a property can be entangled in disputes that only a proper legal search surfaces. This is why a lawyer's litigation check, rather than a quick look at the file, is the step that matters for a significant purchase. The cost of that check is a tiny fraction of the price of the home, and against the possibility of being dragged into a years long case over a property you thought was cleanly yours, it is some of the best money a buyer can spend.

What happens if you buy a disputed property anyway?

If you buy a property that turns out to be under litigation, you remain the owner on paper unless and until the court decides otherwise, but you carry the risk of that decision. Should the court rule against the person who sold to you, you can be bound by that decree, which in the worst case can mean losing the property or your rights in it. You may have a claim against the seller for the loss, but chasing that is cold comfort compared with never having bought into the dispute.

This is why the doctrine is best treated as a reason for prevention rather than cure. A buyer who runs the litigation check and walks away from a disputed property has lost nothing but some time, while a buyer who skips it can inherit years of court proceedings and a clouded title. Related risks, such as buying on a questionable power of attorney, compound the danger, and our note on the risks of a power of attorney sale covers one common way disputes arise.

How should a Bengaluru buyer protect themselves?

Protect yourself by treating a litigation search as a standard part of due diligence on any resale, not an optional extra. Commission a proper title search, pull a long encumbrance certificate, have a lawyer search the court records for the property and the seller, and get a written declaration of no pending litigation. If any of these raises a flag, pause and investigate before a single payment, because it is far easier to walk away before you pay than to extract yourself from a decree afterwards. It also helps to be alert to the softer signals, a seller who is unusually eager to close quickly, who resists giving you time for checks, or who cannot explain a gap in the ownership history, because haste and vagueness are often how a property with a hidden dispute is pushed onto a trusting buyer.

Your litigation check checklist

1. Understand that buying a property under a pending suit binds you to the verdict.
2. Remember your lack of knowledge of the case is not a defence.
3. Commission a thorough title search and a long encumbrance certificate.
4. Have a lawyer search the court records for suits on the property or seller.
5. Get a written declaration from the seller that no litigation is pending.
6. Treat any flag as a reason to pause and investigate before paying.
7. Walk away from a disputed property rather than inherit the case.

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy a property that is under litigation?

You can, because under Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act the sale is not void, but you become bound by whatever the court finally decides in the pending suit. If the ruling goes against the person who sold to you, you can lose the property or your rights in it.

Does it matter that I did not know about the case?

No, and this is the crucial point. The doctrine of lis pendens applies regardless of whether you knew about the pending suit, so good faith and ignorance are not defences. The rule attaches to the transfer automatically. The only protection is to search for litigation yourself before you buy.

How do I find out if a property is under litigation?

Through a combination of checks, since no single source is complete. Commission a title search and a long encumbrance certificate, and have a lawyer search the relevant court records for any suit involving the property or the seller. Also get the seller to declare in writing that no litigation is pending, which gives you a remedy if it proves false.

What is a caveat in property matters?

A caveat is a formal notice filed by someone anticipating litigation, so that the court hears them before passing any order in the matter. For a buyer it is a reminder that disputes and anticipated proceedings can extend beyond a single visible suit. The mechanics are technical, so treat a caveat as a reason to involve a lawyer.

Last updated 2026-10-13. PropNewz Team.