Reading the chain of title first
Before any property suit is filed or defended, the chain of title needs to be traced back through the sale deeds, mutation records and, where relevant, the will or succession by which the current holder acquired the property. A gap or inconsistency in this chain, such as an unregistered gift deed or a mutation that was never carried out, is frequently the actual source of the dispute, even where the parties are arguing about something else on the surface. This work is unglamorous but it is where most property cases are genuinely won.
How a partition suit actually proceeds
A partition suit asks the court to divide property among co-owners according to their shares, and typically proceeds in two stages: a preliminary decree determining the shares, followed by a final decree effecting the actual division, which for a property that cannot practically be split may mean a sale and division of proceeds instead. Where one co-owner is in sole possession and refuses to account for rent or income from the property, that becomes a further issue the suit has to resolve, and it is worth raising at the outset rather than as an afterthought.
A buyer under an agreement to sell can seek specific performance, compelling the seller to complete the sale, but this remedy under the Specific Relief Act 1963 is granted at the court's discretion and depends heavily on the buyer having been ready and willing to perform their own obligations, including payment of the balance consideration, throughout. A buyer who delayed payment or otherwise sat on the agreement without explanation is at real risk of being limited to a refund of earnest money with interest rather than the property itself.
When RERA is the faster route
For a registered project, a homebuyer facing delayed possession or a refusal to refund can approach the Real Estate Regulatory Authority, which was set up specifically to handle these disputes more quickly than a civil suit, and can order possession, refund with interest, or compensation. Whether to proceed under RERA, before the Consumer Commission, or by way of a civil suit depends on the nature of the grievance and the relief actually wanted; these routes are not always interchangeable, and choosing between them is worth doing carefully rather than by default.
