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Supreme Court : The right of pre-emption is only exercisable for the first time
The SC, on 13th October 2020, in the matter of Raghunath (D) By LRs. v. Radha Mohan LRs & Ors. said that the right of pre-emption is only exercisable for the first time when the cause of such a right arises. If such a person finds it is not worth it once, it is not an open right available for all times to that person.
The SC observed that:
The historical thing of the right of pre-emption shows that it owes its origination to the advent of the Mohammedan rule, based on customs, which came to be accepted in a lot of courts largely located in the north of India. The pre-emptor by judicial pronouncements to have two rights. Firstly, the basic right, which is the right to the offer of a thing about to be sold and the secondary or remedial right to follow the thing sold. It is not a primary right, which is simply a right of substitution in place of the original vendee. The right is a “very weak right” and is, thus, capable of being defeated by all legitimate methods including the claim of superior or equal rights.
The right of substitution is capable of being invoked only in the first instance and does not continue. It would not be permissible to adopt legal reasoning making such a weak right, some kind of a right in perpetuity arising to a plaintiff every time there is a subsequent transaction or sale once the plaintiff has waived his right of pre-emption over the subject immovable property.
This right is available only once – whether to take it or leave it is up to a person having a right of pre-emption. If such a person finds it is not worth it once, it is not an open right available for all times to come to that person.
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