Under the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, the rule of lis pendens applies when the suit in which a…

Section 52 provides that while a suit or proceeding, not collusive, in which a right to immovable property is directly and specifically in question is pending in a court of competent jurisdiction, the property cannot be transferred by any party so as to affect the rights of any other party under the eventual decree, except with the court's authority. So lis pendens applies when the suit "is pending between two persons and one of them sells property"; the sale is not void but is subject to the result of the suit. The rule does not apply where the right is only indirectly in question, where the proceeding is collusive, or where the court lacks jurisdiction. In the area covered by the Bombay amendment, registration of a notice of the pending suit was an additional statutory feature.

Current law: Celir LLP, decided 13 December 2024, explains that absence of registered notice under the Maharashtra amendment does not ipso facto make lis pendens inapplicable or give a subsequent buyer an absolute title. Alka Shrirang Chavan, 12 January 2026, paragraph 45, reaffirms that interpretation and its concern for diligence and abuse of litigation. The statutory notice requirement should therefore not be presented as an automatic escape from lis pendens in every case.