Section 52 protects a claimant’s interest without requiring an injunction against alienation.

The plaintiff brought Title Suit No. 153 of 2022 seeking a declaration of her claimed 1/4 share in property originally owned by her father and challenging two deeds of gift in favour of defendant no. 1.

She alleged that the deeds had been obtained from her father by fraud.

She applied under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC), seeking, among other relief, to restrain defendant no. 1 from creating third-party interests in the property.

The Trial Court rejected the injunction application, finding no prima facie case and that defendant no. 1 had a stronger claim to title and possession; the First Appellate Court dismissed the plaintiff’s appeal.

In revision, the plaintiff pressed for an order restraining creation of third-party interests.

Whether the concurrent refusal of temporary injunction warranted interference in revision.

Whether defendant no. 1 should be restrained from creating third-party interests in the property pending the title suit.

The Court considered Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 CPC, under which temporary injunctive relief is sought, and Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, which provides the doctrine of lis pendens.

It reasoned that an owner should not be restrained from exercising ownership, including alienating property, where the plaintiff’s challenge to title remains to be determined at trial; if the plaintiff succeeds, Section 52 provides protection against transfers made during the litigation.

The judgment cites no precedent.

The plaintiff’s claimed inheritance share and allegation of fraud against the gift deeds raised matters for determination at trial.

At the interlocutory stage, defendant no. 1’s claim rested on the deeds of gift, and the lower courts had found the plaintiff had not established a prima facie case and that defendant no. 1 had the stronger claim to title and possession.

The Court therefore declined to restrain defendant no. 1 from alienating the property, noting that Section 52 would apply if the plaintiff ultimately succeeded.

The revisional application, CO 2852 of 2025, was disposed of, leaving the refusal of temporary injunction in place.