In a ruling that reinforces the rights of co-owners, the Supreme Court has declared that a co-owner with an undetermined share in a joint property cannot transfer the entire property without a formal partition. This decision came in a case involving a co-owner who sold an entire suit property, claiming sole ownership, despite the existence of other co-owners.
The bench, comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Pankaj Mithal, reviewed the sale, where the seller (a co-owner) argued he had acquired full ownership after his father and uncle, the original owners, passed away. The seller contended that his uncle had gifted his share to his father, and after his father’s death, the sisters relinquished their rights, leaving him as the absolute owner. However, the other co-owners, whose interests were not addressed in the sale, disputed the transaction, asserting that their approval was never sought, making the transfer void.
The court emphasized that the seller was only entitled to transfer his specific share, not the entire property. Justice Pankaj Mithal noted that the property remained a joint asset shared equally between the original co-owners and their heirs. The court highlighted that no partition had taken place to demarcate individual shares, making any attempt to sell the entire property legally unsound.
The judgment also underscored that transferring property without recognizing other co-owners’ rights would effectively deprive them of their legitimate shares. The court upheld the injunction preventing the buyer from claiming ownership of the entire property until a proper partition occurred.
The ruling suggests the appellant, the buyer in the case, can seek remedies through a partition suit or compensation claim against the seller but is not entitled to control the entire property without due process.
With this decision, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the principles protecting co-ownership rights and ensured that no individual co-owner can unilaterally dispose of a joint property without accounting for the interests of all involved.
