Order XXI CPC Rules 82 to 89: Sale of Immovable Property
Rules 82 to 89 of Order XXI of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 govern which courts may order sale, postponement of sale, purchaser deposits and payment deadlines, re-sale after default, co-sharer preference, and applications to set aside an execution sale on deposit.
Rule 82: What Courts may order sales
Sales of immovable property in execution of decrees may be ordered by any Court other than a Court of Small Causes.
Rule 83: Postponement of sale to enable judgment-debtor to raise amount of decree
(1) Where an order for the sale of immovable property has been made, if the judgment-debtor can satisfy the Court that there is reason to believe that the amount of the decree may be raised by the mortgage or lease or private sale of such property, or some part thereof, or of any other immovable property of the judgment-debtor, the Court may, on his application, postpone the sale of the property comprised in the order for sale on such terms and for such period as it thinks proper, to enable him to raise the amount.
(2) In such case the Court shall grant a certificate to the judgment-debtor authorising him within a period to be mentioned therein, and notwithstanding anything contained in section 64, to make the proposed mortgage, lease or sale:
Provided that all moneys payable under such mortgage, lease or sale shall be paid, not to the judgment-debtor, but, save in so far as a decree-holder is entitled to set off such money under the provisions of rule 72, into Court:
Provided also that no mortgage, lease or sale under this rule shall become absolute until it has been confirmed by the Court.
(3) Nothing in this rule shall be deemed to apply to a sale of property directed to be sold in execution of a decree for sale in enforcement of a mortgage of, or charge on, such property.
Rule 84: Deposit by purchaser and re-sale on default
(1) On every sale of immovable property, the person declared to be the purchaser shall pay immediately after such declaration a deposit of twenty-five per cent on the amount of his purchase-money to the officer or other person conducting the sale, and in default of such deposit, the property shall forthwith be re-sold.
(2) Where the decree-holder is the purchaser and is entitled to set off the purchase-money under rule 72, the Court may dispense with the requirements of this rule.
Rule 85: Time for payment in full of purchase-money
The full amount of purchase-money payable shall be paid by the purchaser into Court before the Court closes on the fifteenth day from the sale of the property:
Provided that, in calculating the amount to be so paid into Court, the purchaser shall have the advantage of any set-off to which he may be entitled under rule 72.
Rule 86: Procedure in default of payment
In default of payment within the period mentioned in the last preceding rule, the deposit may, if the Court thinks fit, after defraying the expenses of the sale, be forfeited to the Government, and the property shall be re-sold, and the defaulting purchaser shall forfeit all claim to the property or to any part of the sum for which it may subsequently be sold.
Rule 87: Notification on re-sale
Every re-sale of immovable property, in default of payment of the purchase-money within the period allowed for such payment, shall be made after the issue of a fresh proclamation in the manner and for the period hereinbefore prescribed for the sale.
Rule 88: Bid of co-sharer to have preference
Where the property sold is a share of undivided immovable property and two or more persons, of whom one is a co-sharer, respectively bid the same sum for such property or for any lot, the bid shall be deemed to be the bid of the co-sharer.
Rule 89: Application to set aside sale on deposit
(1) Where immovable property has been sold in execution of a decree, any person claiming an interest in the property sold at the time of the sale or at the time of making the application, or acting for or in the interest of such person, may apply to have the sale set aside on his depositing in Court:
- for payment to the purchaser, a sum equal to five per cent of the purchase-money; and
- for payment to the decree-holder, the amount specified in the proclamation of sale as that for the recovery of which the sale was ordered, less any amount which may, since the date of such proclamation of sale, have been received by the decree-holder.
(2) Where a person applies under rule 90 to set aside the sale of his immovable property, he shall not, unless he withdraws his application, be entitled to make or prosecute an application under this rule.
(3) Nothing in this rule shall relieve the judgment-debtor from any liability he may be under in respect of costs and interest not covered by the proclamation of sale.
Editorial headings and navigation aids are provided for readability and SEO. The operative statutory text should be read with the Code, amendment notes and applicable local rules.
