PRINCIPLE OF LAW- WHEN THE DOCTRINE OF LIS PENDES WILL BE APPLICABLE

The Supreme Court examined the doctrine of lis pendes in a case in which the Respondents exercised a power of sale under the mortgage deed after a judgment in its favour on the said property. The court examined whether the doctrine of lis pendes should be followed as rote or whether it should reflect the realities of human society and the nature of the mobility of a vibrant society. The case resulted in a split decision of the apex court. The majority decision of the court refused to apply the doctrine of lis pendes in the circumstances in which the appellant had wilfully refused to intimate the respondent of the fact that it had appealed the trial court’s decision and requested a stay of that decision.