Lis Pendens

Also known as: Section 52, pendente lite

Lis pendens is the rule under Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act that a property transferred while a suit concerning it is pending passes subject to the outcome of that suit.

The doctrine binds the buyer to the eventual decree even where the buyer had no notice of the litigation and paid full value in good faith. This makes a litigation search non-optional: an otherwise perfect chain of title and a clean Encumbrance Certificate offer no protection against a pending suit. Because Indian cause lists index by party name rather than by property, the search must cover every owner in the recent chain.

What it does not prove

A clean EC does not indicate the absence of litigation - encumbrance and litigation are entirely separate searches.