Punjab & Haryana High Court, Chandigarh
Citation(2020) 2 SCC 569
CourtSupreme Court of India
Date14 January 2020
Year2020
BenchArun Mishra, M.R. Shah JJ.
Acts/ArticlesLimitation Act Section 27, Article 65 of Limitation Act Schedule
CategoryProperty & Land Law

Key Principle Established

Adverse possession against government land requires 30 years of continuous, hostile, open, and uninterrupted possession. Burden of proof is on the person claiming adverse possession.

Brief Facts

A person claimed ownership of government land by adverse possession, arguing they had been in continuous possession for over 30 years.

Ratio Decidendi

The Court held that adverse possession requires proof of all essential elements:

  • Possession must be hostile and adverse to the true owner (not permissive)
  • Possession must be open, continuous, and uninterrupted for the entire statutory period
  • Against government: 30 years; against private persons: 12 years
  • The claimant must prove the exact date of commencement of adverse possession
  • Burden of proof is on the person claiming adverse possession — every element must be strictly proved

Impact & Significance

This judgment provides the modern framework for adverse possession claims and makes it significantly harder to claim government land through adverse possession. It is relevant to thousands of disputes involving encroachments on government land in Haryana.

Tags & Related Topics

Property & Land Law Limitation Act Section 27 Article 65 of Limitation Act Schedule
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Disclaimer

This judgment summary is for educational and research purposes. While care has been taken to accurately represent the ratio and findings, for authoritative reference always consult the original judgment text from official sources (SCC Online, AIR, Manupatra, or court websites).

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