In Brief
In this partition suit spanning 82 years (1935–2017), the Court examined whether a sale deed executed in 1959 during pending litigation was valid and binding. The property, ancestral Muslim estate, was sold by one heir (Hamid Ali Khan) with only 14/104th share to Bala Mallaiah. The Court held that the sale was hit by the doctrine of lis pendens under section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act and was valid only to the extent of the vendor's share. Under Muslim law, heirs succeed as tenants-in-common, and no heir can alienate others' shares. The preliminary decree (1970) crystallized shares and became binding. The Court rejected claims of adverse possession and equitable adjustment beyond the vendor's permissible share, holding law must prevail over equity. The final decree of the trial court was restored.
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