You cannot sell land to third party during pendency of court cases
2) court must have granted stay order restraining sale of land
3) you would not get title clearance certificate due to pending cases
Land title clearance certificate
My grandfather had ancenral agriculture land. He has 4 sons (including my Father) and 3 sisters. He did partition the land among the 4 sons before 1991 and 4 sons had a contract with one firm in 1991 for the bulding scheme development. This contract doesn’t contain any end date and contract is also not registered. Nothing happened so far till now on this land. The owner of that firm whom had contract with, was dead in 2008 and his son took over the ownership of that firm. These 4 sons (my father and his 3 brothers) had one more contract in 2015 with another party for building the scheme development and this contract is also not contain any end date and this contract is also not registered one. By the time that contract happened, I was 18 years up and my name was in 7-12 but another party didn’ have this contract with me. Now we have two ongoing court case. 1. First party filed a suite in 2018 and we lost in lower court under article 54 in rule 7 order 11. Court counted the time period from the 2015 to 2018. Court said first party got aware in 2015 when another party published the advertisment in newspaper for title clearance certificate and first party filed the suite in 2018 before completing the 3 years of period. 2. Another case filed in 2022 by one out of 3 Sisters and this suite is relate to partition. My grandfather already partition the land among 4 brothers and my grandfather name is not in this land and the Partition deed is registered. Current party whom my father and his 3 brothers had contract with, is not doing anything in this land and waiting for clearance of this two cases. Now this land is converted from agriculture to non agriculture land. We would like to get out of this all matters and want to sell this land to someone third party. In summarize, first contract is unregistered one. Current party’s contract is also not registered and partition deed is registered on. With the agreeement of my father and his 3 brothers, Is it possible to get the title clearance certificate in this all condition and sell this land directly to third party?
Asked 2 months ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu
16 answers received from multiple lawyers
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16 Answers
As there are two cases pending before court in connection with title and partition, you cannot sell or alienate the property in any manner till the disposal of the suits by court
Dear Client,
Consult a legal expert to review the validity of the unregistered contracts and the implications of the ongoing court cases. Ensure that the partition deed, which is registered, clearly delineates ownership among your father and his brothers.
Work with a legal expert to address the title clearance issues. This includes resolving the impact of the first party's suit under Article 54 and the ongoing partition suit filed by one of the sisters. The title clearance certificate can only be obtained if these disputes are resolved or clarified.
Given that both the 1991 and 2015 contracts are unregistered and have no end date, you may need to negotiate with the current parties involved to formally terminate these contracts. This step is crucial to preventing future legal claims.
Ensure that all co-owners (your father and his three brothers) are in agreement about selling the land. This collective agreement is essential to proceed with the sale and to avoid any internal disputes.
If necessary, file a petition in court seeking a declaratory judgement on the validity and enforceability of the unregistered contracts and to obtain a clear directive on the land's title status. This will help in obtaining a title clearance certificate.
Yes you can get the title clearence certificate
- As per law , an unregistered contract/agreement is not admissible in evidence.
- Further, as the Partition deed is already registered , then your father can sell his share in the property, if there is no stay order has been passed in the Partition suit filed by the sisters.
For the our ongoing case on suite of specific performance , court in the stage of seeking plaintiff evidence. I am seeing Supreme Court judgement on “Hemlatha Vs. Kasthuri” case about considering unregistered agreement to sell as admissible in the suite of specific performance. In our case, agreement is unregistered and it’s all about development of construction on our land. I am not sure this agreement to be consider as sell or just the mutual understanding. Whatever it is, can this agreement be consider as admissible or inadmissible if plaintiff submit in the evidence ? Here is the detail of agreement and case. “In 1991, contract was executed with one firm for building scheme development with 75-25 percent ratio. Out of total cost for scheme development, landowner will suffer 75 percent and other party will suffer 25 percent. Whatever the profit yield, landowner will take 75 and other party will take 25 percent. There is no time period mentioned in the contract for scheme development and contract is endless. Now owner of that firm, dead in 2008 and his son took over the ownership and filed the suite of specific performance. We as a defendant lost the case here because suite was filed within 3 years and court counted period from 2015 when plaintiff got to know through published notice in newspapers for tile clear certificate”
Asked 2 months ago
It is development agreement
it would be admissible in evidence in suit for specific performance
As per law and the supreme court judgment an unregistered sale agreement cannot be enforced but it can be admissible as evidence in the trial. If it is produced as evidence by plaintiff the court can very well admit it as evidence and can mark it as exhibit.
However you can argue about its genuineness during arguments.
- As per the Supreme Court, an unregistered agreement to sell can still be admitted as evidence where the suit is for a relief to be granted by a court against a person to fulfill his / her contractual obligations (specific performance).
- You can approach the High Court against the order passed by the District Judge Court.
Dear Client,
In your ongoing case of specific performance, whether the unregistered agreement for the development of construction on your land can be admitted as evidence depends on several factors. The Supreme Court judgement in "Hemlatha vs. . Kasthuri" indicates that an unregistered agreement to sell can be admissible in specific performance suits under certain conditions.
In your agreement from 1991, which outlines a development scheme with a 75–25 percent cost and profit-sharing ratio but lacks a specified time period, its admissibility may hinge on its nature. If the court considers it a contract for sale, it may require registration under the Registration Act. However, if it is deemed a mutual understanding or development agreement, it may not need to be registered.
Given that the plaintiff's suit was filed within the three-year limitation period, counted from the discovery of the notice in 2015, your unregistered agreement might still be considered valid evidence for the specific performance suit. Ultimately, the court will decide based on the specifics of your case and relevant legal precedents. It is advisable to consult with your legal counsel to ensure that the agreement is presented effectively in court.
First party’s ongoing suite in city civil and session court has been stuck in plaintiff evidence stage since 9 months. And I m seeing 2-3 times his advocate requested for time extension and Judge gave the approval. Sometime orally and sometime through written application. So we are not getting reach to the next step like defendant evidence. How many times court can give extension upon request ? Is there any time limit on this process ?
Asked 1 month ago
Court generally grants no more than 3 adjournments
you should insist that party be directed to pay costs for adjournments
- The extension upon request depends upon the Court , and it is not legally fixed that the trail of the case must be completed within a fixed time , until there is an order /direction from the High Court.
- You can oppose to the Court at the time of extension allowed to the Plaintiff on the ground of delay in proceedings
- Further, if no positive response from the said Court, then you can approach the High Court for directing the said Court to finalize the case within a fixed time frame.
If the matter is brought under trial list then the plaintiff side cannot seek time even by filing an adjournment petition, becasue that will be the last and final chance, after which the court will dismiss the suit for default.
however the plaintiff side may file a petition to restore the same which will again drag on for another six months or more, hence better to not to object to this delay and put pressure on court to insist on the plaintiff to begin the trial.
However you may remember that the plaintiff has approached court for relief and not you hence the delay will affect the plaintiff only
Dear Client,
According to Order XVII Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Code, a court is permitted to grant adjournments if there is sufficient cause. However, as per Order XVII Rule 2, the court should not grant more than three adjournments to a party during the hearing of the suit. If the plaintiff's side has already been granted multiple adjournments, you can bring this to the notice of the court and request a limitation on further adjournments. You or your legal representative can file an application under the provisions of the CPC requesting the court to expedite the matter and limit further adjournments. Formally file an application requesting the court to limit further adjournments, emphasizing that sufficient time has already been granted to the plaintiff. If the plaintiff continues to seek extensions without sufficient cause, seek the court's intervention to prevent further delays and to expedite the proceedings. Should you require any further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you all for your prompt response. One more doubt, if you guys can clear. Both cases (first party’s specific performance and sister’s partition suite) are ongoing in same court (Civil and session court). Is there anyway to link this two cases so, court get to know this both cases are for the same land and same defendant ? Currently, both cases are taking as separately on different dates but I am seeing Judge is the same for both cases. How Judge get to know this both cases are for same defendant ?
Asked 1 month ago
Until and unless both the cases are put for joint trial by a court order , both the cases will be tried separately
Even if the judge is knowing about it he cannot do anything about it, he will try both the cases separately
Make application to court for clubbing the 2 cases as both cases are in respect of same land .
court would allow your application
Dear Client,
Yes, it is possible to link the two ongoing cases so that the court recognizes both are concerning the same land and the same defendants. You can file an application requesting the consolidation of both cases. The application should explain that both cases involve the same land and the same defendants, and that hearing them together will serve the interests of justice by avoiding conflicting judgments and ensuring efficient judicial process. With the help of your lawyer, draft an application citing the above grounds and legal provisions. Submit the application in the court where both cases are pending. Ensure that notice of this application is served to all parties involved in both cases.
If the application for consolidation is not feasible or practical, you can ensure that the judge is aware of the connection between the two cases by Submitting a written statement, orally informing the judge during the hearing or the court might take to its own notice when it is brought to their attention. Should you require any further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us.