Public Auction of Immovable Property

Public Auction of Immovable Property

This a legal process regulated by the Auctioneers Rules,1997. An auction of immovable property may take place between 10.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m. This means that an auction of immovable property advertised to take place at 11.00 a.m. may proceed upto 10.00 p.m. The transaction must be uninterrupted. The moment the chain of causation is grossly disrupted by factors such as calling off the auction for not being responsive, the chain of causation is broken and for it to be valid, the entire process must commence afresh.  

The rationale for this rule is that, a public auction is a process open to the public and the public only come to learn about it when it is advertised. The moment the advertised day and time comes, and the auction is not responsive and it is stopped for that reason, a valid similar process can only start with a fresh advertisement. This guarantees the integrity of the process and wards off room for room for speculation or a possibility of collusion. If this process is to be left to the discretion of auctioneers, it will open doors to speculation with the possibility of the auctioneer colluding with hitherto unknown bidders to defeat the bids put on the floor of the auction house. Even acquiescence of the bidders at the auction to call on an already called off auction does not cure this legal infirmity.

That is how strict and painstakingly stringent public auction of immovable property is.