After my sale deed, some thrid party claims they had previous MOU

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Under the Transfer of Property Act, once you have a registered sale deed, you are legally recognized as the owner of the property, and this deed typically takes precedence over any unregistered or notarized documents like a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Since the third party’s MOU with Mr. A is not a registered document, it generally does not establish a legally enforceable claim to ownership or create any interest in the property under Sections 54 and 55 of the Transfer of Property Act. Only a registered sale deed can effectively transfer ownership rights in immovable property. An MOU, especially one executed on a notary, does not constitute a transfer of ownership. At most, it may be considered an agreement to enter into a sale, which is not binding on you, as you were not a party to it. Furthermore, because you issued a paper notice and did not receive any objections before completing the purchase, you fulfilled the due diligence requirements, adding legitimacy to your ownership. If the third party transferred money to Mr. A, they may have a personal claim against him to recover that amount, but this does not affect your rights as the owner. In the absence of any registered interest, their claims would not impact your title to the property. Additionally, if they sent any notices to Mr. A, these notices do not impact your purchase because they were not served on you. The third party may attempt a legal dispute, but their lack of a registered sale deed means their claim is weak. You may consider consulting a property lawyer to reinforce your title and address any legal challenges.

Advocate Rohan Venkatesh Yemul LawRato