Question

Rajan has a litigation in determining the title of the property with Ramya. During the period of litigation, Rajan initiates a sale of the property in favour of Ramani. According to which doctrine, the property cannot be sold because the property is involved in litigation?

• A. Doctrine of Lis Pendens
• B. Doctrine of Election
• C. Doctrine of lapse
• D. None of these

Hint:

Remember the literal meaning of the Latin phrase: \textit{Lis} means 'lawsuit' and \textit{Pendens} means 'pending'. So, Lis Pendens directly translates to "pending lawsuit", making it easy to connect the term to the concept of a property under litigation.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Scenario
The scenario describes a situation where a property, which is the subject matter of an ongoing lawsuit ("litigation"), is transferred to a third party. The question asks for the legal doctrine that prohibits or restricts such a transfer.

Step 2: Defining the Legal Doctrines


(A) Doctrine of Lis Pendens: This is a Latin term for "a pending lawsuit". The doctrine, codified in Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 in India, states that during the pendency of any suit in which any right to immovable property is directly in question, the property cannot be transferred by any party to the suit so as to affect the rights of any other party under any decree which may be made. In simple terms, it prevents the transfer of disputed property while a lawsuit is pending. This exactly matches the scenario.

(B) Doctrine of Election: This doctrine states that when a person receives a benefit under an instrument (like a will or a deed), they must also accept any burden imposed by it. They cannot take the benefit and reject the burden. It's about choosing between two inconsistent rights.

(C) Doctrine of lapse: This was a policy of annexation applied by the British East India Company in India until 1859. It stated that if a ruler of a dependent state died without a natural heir, their state would be annexed by the British. It has no relevance to property law.


Step 3: Final Answer
The doctrine that prevents the transfer of a property during active litigation is the Doctrine of Lis Pendens. Therefore, option (A) is the correct answer.