Partition Act, 1893
3. Procedure when sharer undertakes to buy
(1) If, in any case in which the Court is requested under the
last foregoing section to direct a sale, any other shareholder applies for
leave to buy at a valuation the share or shares of the party or parties asking
for sale, the Court shall order a valuation of the share or shares in such
manner as it may think fit and offer to sell the same to such shareholder at
the price so ascertained, and may give all necessary and proper directions in
that behalf.
(2) If two or more shareholders severally apply for leave to buy
as provided in sub-section (1), the Court shall order a sale of the share or
shares to the shareholder who offers to pay the highest price above the
valuation made by the Court.
(3) If no such shareholder is willing to buy such share or
shares at the price so ascertained, the applicant or applicants shall be liable
to pay all costs of or incident to the application or applications.
Comment: It is the duty of the Court to order the
valuation of the shares of the party asking for a sale of the property under S.
2 and to offer to sell the shares of such party to the shareholders applying
for leave to buy them in terms of S. 3 at the price determined upon such
valuation. As soon as a request for sale is made by a shareholder under S. 2,
any other shareholder becomes immediately entitled to make an application under
S. 3 for leave to buy the shares of the former. The right to buy having thus
arisen and become crystallized, the date with reference to which valuation of
the shares in question has to be made is the date on which the right arose. Malati Ramchandra Raut v. Mahadevo Vasudeo Joshi, AIR 1991 SUPREME COURT 700