Sale of joint property by one of the co-owner

Co-owner can sell his  undivided share of property but can not handover the possession to buyer without partition of property.

Thanks Mr. Goyal for your reply.

Please advise what steps can be taken by the other co-owner to prevent the sale or possession of property without his consent.

Other Co-owner can file suit for partition of property along with temporary injunction petition and get stay order in regards to sell and possession of property. 

Sale cannot be prevented. But, may be, handing over possession could be. However, is it worth the effort?

For a property owned jointly by two people, if one of them wants to sell his/her share in the property, can do so without obtaining the consent or permission of NOC of the other joint owner, by selling the unidentified share in the property to the prospective buyer, provided the buyer is willing to buy the unidentified share and is ready to possess and enjoy the property along with the other owner jointly.

It has been established that “The sale of a specific portion of the undivided joint property is not null and void.” Recent judgments have reaffirmed that “In substantive provisions of law, there is no bar for the co-owner to sell the undivided share as per Section 44 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.”

A recent Supreme Court judgment (2024) in SK. GOLAM LALCHAND VERSUS NANDU LAL SHAW & ORS clarified an important distinction: while a co-owner can sell their undivided share, they cannot sell the entire undivided property without consent of other co-owners.

Same query has been posted in another thread today itself.

Avoid repitition.