What is Adverse Possession?

 

🏠 What is Adverse Possession?

Adverse possession is a legal doctrine where:
✅ A person who occupies land or property belonging to someone else
✅ Openly, continuously, and without the owner’s permission
✅ For a certain period of time (as defined by law)

can legally claim ownership over that land.

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⚖ Legal Basis

The main law governing adverse possession in India is:

✅ Limitation Act, 1963

• Article 65 (Schedule) → For recovery of immovable property, the limitation period is 12 years.

• For government land, under Article 112, the period is 30 years.

This means:

• If the real owner does not assert their legal right or file a suit within the limitation period, the adverse possessor can claim ownership.

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🛠 Key Elements to Prove Adverse Possession

The person claiming adverse possession must prove:
✅ Actual, physical possession
✅ Open and notorious (not hidden)
✅ Exclusive (not shared with owner or public)
✅ Continuous and uninterrupted for the full limitation period
✅ Hostile to the true owner (without permission or recognition of owner’s title)

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❗ Important: Burden of Proof

• The person claiming adverse possession bears the burden to prove all these conditions.

• Mere possession or illegal occupation is not enough — it must be open, continuous, and adverse to the owner’s title.

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🏛 Leading Supreme Court Judgments

Some landmark rulings:
✅ Karnataka Board of Wakf vs Government of India (2004) — adverse possession must be proved like any other fact, with clear evidence.
✅ Ravinder Kaur Grewal vs Manjit Kaur (2019) — clarified that even someone in possession without title can perfect title through adverse possession.