Suit For Title Declaration Based On Adverse Possession Having Matured Into Ownership Is Maintainable : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court reiterated that a suit for declaration based on adverse possession having matured into ownership is maintainable.

In this case, the plaintiff filed a suit for declaration of title pleading that the adverse possession on the suit property granted him certain rights. The Trial court allowed the application filed by defendant under Order VII Rule 11, Code of Civil Procedure and rejected the plaint.

In revision, the High Court held that plaintiff cannot seek a declaration based on adverse possession having matured into ownership. It was observed that the plea of adverse possession was only a plea of defence and not of establishing rights as a plaintiff though injunction suit would be maintainable.

Setting aside the trial court's rejection of the plaint and the High Court's order confirming the same, the Supreme Court observed:

"The moot point is that the legal position in this behalf now stands enunciated to the contrary in terms of the judgment of this Court in Ravinder Kaur Grewal & Ors. v. Manjit Kaur & Ors.- 2019 (8) SCC 729. The aforesaid being the position, the application under Order VII Rule 11, CPC predicated on a contrary legal view could not have been sustained".

In Ravinder Kaur Grewal (supra), a three judge bench of the Supreme Court has held thus:

"We hold that a person in possession cannot be ousted by another person except by due procedure of law and once 12 years' period of adverse possession is over, even owner's right to eject him is lost and the possessory owner acquires right, title and interest possessed by the outgoing person/owner as the case may be against whom he has prescribed. In our opinion, consequence is that once the right, title or interest is acquired it can be used as a sword by the plaintiff as well as a shield by the defendant within ken of Article 65 of the Act and any person who has perfected title by way of adverse possession, can file a suit for restoration of possession in case of dispossession. In case of dispossession by another person by taking law in his hand a possessory suit can be maintained under Article 64, even before the ripening of title by way of adverse possession. By perfection of title on extinguishment of the owner's title, a person cannot be remediless. In case he has been dispossessed by the owner after having lost the right by adverse possession, he can be evicted by the plaintiff by taking the plea of adverse possession. Similarly, any other person who might have dispossessed the plaintiff having perfected title by way of adverse possession can also be evicted until and unless such other person has perfected title against such a plaintiff by adverse possession. Similarly, under other Articles also in case of infringement of any of his rights, a plaintiff who has perfected the title by adverse possession, can sue and maintain a suit When we consider the law of adverse possession as has developed visˆ-vis to property dedicated to public use, courts have been loath to confer the right by adverse possession."

Case:  Darshan Kaur Bhatia vs Ramesh Gandhi | CA 1701-1702 /2022 | 28 Feb 2022
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 246
Coram: Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh
Counsel: Adv Amol Chitale , AOR Pragya Baghel,  Adv Sourabh Tandon for appellant