Srinagar, Nov. 30 -- In the landmark case Iqbal Singh vs Durga Devi & Ors, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh ruled that the statutory right of pre-emption can be waived through conduct and lost permanently if not timely enforced. The dispute involved a residential property in Poonch jointly purchased in 1976 by Durga Devi and Roop Chand, whose successor planned to sell his share to Iqbal Singh in 1987. Durga Devi issued a Section 19 notice and filed an injunction suit but did not seek enforcement of her pre-emptive right. She later abandoned the suit and claimed her statutory entitlement decades later, after depositing Rs. 40,000.Iqbal Singh argued that her prolonged inaction and previous legal pleadings amounted to waiver and ...