Revenue authorities must mutate registered lis pendens notices despite lack of judicial orders.

In brief

The question

1. Whether the revenue authorities are legally obligated to mutate an entry of lis pendens in the revenue records based on a registered document without a specific judicial order.

The court held

The Court held that a registered notice of lis pendens is a valid document that must be reflected in revenue records regardless of a specific judicial direction.

It also directed

The Court allowed the petition, quashed the Mamlatdar’s order dated 22.12.2025, and directed Respondent No. 4 to treat the registered notice as valid and proceed with the mutation entry in accordance with the Gujarat Land Revenue Code and Rules.

01Facts

The petitioner claimed possession of land bearing Survey No. 244 in Village Kansumra, Jamnagar, inherited from his father who had cultivated it since 1967.

pp. 2-3

Following a notice under the Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020, the petitioner filed Special Civil Suit No. 39 of 2024 for declaration and permanent injunction.

p. 3

Pending the suit, the petitioner registered a notice of lis pendens (Sr. No. 206 of 2025) before the Sub-Registrar under Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act.

p. 3

The Mamlatdar (Respondent No. 4), via order dated 22.12.2025, refused to mutate the lis pendens entry in the revenue records, citing Government Resolution (GR) No. HKP/102022/916/J dated 30.05.2022, which purportedly required a judicial order for such mutations.

p. 4

02Issues

i.1. Whether the revenue authorities are legally obligated to mutate an entry of lis pendens in the revenue records based on a registered document without a specific judicial order.

p. 4 / para. 7

ii.2. Whether a Government Resolution can override the statutory provisions of the Transfer of Property Act and the Registration Act regarding the recording of lis pendens.

p. 4 / para. 5.2

03Law Applied

Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (as amended in Gujarat), which dictates that the principle of lis pendens applies to transactions if a notice of the suit is registered under the Indian Registration Act, 1908.

pp. 5-6

Precedent Dipakbhai Manilal Patel and Anr. v. State of Gujarat and Anr. (2007 2 GLR 1297), which established that once a document of lis pendens is registered, the Mamlatdar is duty-bound to enter it into the revenue records to provide notice to potential third-party purchasers, ensuring the litigation is not frustrated.

pp. 6-7

Provisions in the judgment · 2 · Linked ones open on LawLens

Transfer of Property Act, 1882 Section 52 Section 53

04Reasoning

The court reasoned that the Mamlatdar’s reliance on the Government Resolution dated 30.05.2022 was misplaced.

p. 4, 8

The court held that the essential purpose of registering a lis pendens notice is to ensure that any person conducting a title search at the Sub-Registrar's office is informed of pending litigation.

p. 6

The court found that because the document was duly registered at Serial No. 206 of 2025, there was no legal bar to its mutation in the revenue records.

p. 8

The court noted that administrative instructions or GRs cannot circumvent the statutory duty of revenue officers to update records based on validly registered documents under the Gujarat Land Revenue Code, provided the standard procedure of notice to affected parties is followed.

pp. 7-8

05Holding

The Court held that a registered notice of lis pendens is a valid document that must be reflected in revenue records regardless of a specific judicial direction.

p. 8

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