There are auction houses in major commercial cities of the world. Antique and artwork is mostly bought and sold through the auction houses. A person has to first register as a bidder with the auction houses. The auction houses have terms and conditions for registration. In addition, the auction houses prepare catalogues for the sale of the items and distribute it to the registered bidders. These become shared between the bidders and the auctioneer. The auctioneer is authorised by the owner to sell the goods. The auctioneer, thus, gets the owner and the buyer into a sale contract.

An auction house was auctioning a suitcase belonging to a celebrity novelist of the past. The catalogue described the sale item as ‘a leather suitcase belonging to and used by the novelist”. The hammer was struck to the highest bidder. The buyer paid and the auction house gave him the suitcase. The buyer kept the suitcase on a display shelf in the living room. Three months later, the buyer was cleaning the suitcase. He opened it to clean it inside. While cleaning it, his hand touched something hard. The suitcase had a pocket inside for storing things. He opened the pocket and found a diamond ring. The diamond ring belonged to the novelist. The buyer tried to sell the diamond ring through an auction house. Through this, the family of the novelist and the auctioneer learnt that the buyer had got the ring along with the suitcase. A dispute developed. Both, the family and the buyer claim to be the owner of the ring. Has the buyer become the owner of the ring?