Legal Case Summary

Case Details
Case ID ffba1bbf-f47f-4795-8ef9-78f8afd3cf6c
Body View case body.
Case Number 47-D of 1965
Decision Date Oct 26, 1966
Hearing Date
Decision The appeal by Chandra Kumar Maladas was allowed, and the order of the Munsif as well as of the District Judge passed in Miscellaneous Case No. 1 of 1958 was restored. The court found that the High Court erred in applying the rule of lis pendens to the cancellation of the auction sale by compromise. The petitioner, Abdul Motaleb, did not have a subsisting interest in the holding to maintain the application for pre-emption, as his initial purchase had been pre-empted by other co-sharers. The court concluded that a pre-emptor must maintain a continuous interest from the time of application to the final decision, which Abdul Motaleb failed to do.
Summary This case, adjudicated by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, involved a dispute over the right to pre-empt an auction sale. The primary legal issue was whether the doctrine of lis pendens applied to a pre-emption case, specifically after an auction sale had been set aside by a compromise between the judgment-debtors and the auction purchaser. Chandra Kumar Maladas, one of the judgment-debtors, appealed against the High Court's decision that allowed the pre-emption. The Supreme Court scrutinized the application of the Bengal Tenancy Act, particularly Section 26-F, which governs pre-emption rights. The court emphasized the necessity for a pre-emptor to have a continuous subsisting interest from the application filing to the final decision. In this case, Abdul Motaleb's interest was contested as his initial purchase was pre-empted by co-sharers, and his subsequent acquisition of interest was deemed a fresh transfer, not retroactively applicable. The court ruled in favor of the appellant, restoring the earlier orders and clarifying the legal interpretation of continuous interest under Section 26-F. Keywords: Supreme Court of Pakistan, pre-emption rights, Bengal Tenancy Act, lis pendens, auction sale, legal interpretation.
Court Supreme Court of Pakistan
Entities Involved Debt Settlement Board, District of Noakhali
Judges A. R. Cornelius, Hamoodur Rahman, Muhammad Yaqub Ali
Lawyers Mazhar Hasnain, Shafiqyr Rahman
Petitioners Chandra Kumar Maladas
Respondents Aminullah, Abdul Motaleb, Shoramoni Maladas, Radha Krishna Maladas, Kalik Tara Maladas
Citations 1967 SLD 24, 1967 PLD 28
Other Citations Not available
Laws Involved Constitution of Pakistan (1962), Bengal Tenancy Act (VIII of 1885)
Sections Art. 58(3), S. 26-F