Supreme Court: Lis pendens doctrine kicks in when petition is filed and not when court issues notice; it applies even if petition was in defect

The Supreme Court in the case M/s Siddamsetty Infra Projects Pvt Ltd v. Katta Sujatha Reddy and Others observed and has held that the doctrine of lis pendens under Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 will kick in from the moment a petition is filed in the Court and not at the stage when notice is issued by the Court.

The court in the case observed and has rejected the argument that the lis pendens doctrine would not apply when the petition was lying in the Registry in a defective state.

The bench comprising of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra was hearing the present matter.

The bench in the case was reviewing and recalling a 2022 judgment, wherein the court refused to allow the specific performance of an agreement to sell.

The issue arose of lis pendens when the property was sold after the 2022 judgment.

On the other hand, the respondent argued before the court that the property was sold before the review petition was registered.

On September 23, 2022, the petitioner filed a review petition against the judgment of this Court dated August 25, 2022 within the period of limitation.

On October 14, 2024, the Registry sent a letter to the petitioner asking him to cure defects.

On November 11, 2022, the petitioner cured the defects.

On December 13, 2022, the review petition was registered.