Party Claiming Adverse Possession Must Know Who The Actual Owner Of Property Is: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court held that a plaintiff cannot seek ownership over the property based on the claim of an adverse possession if he fails to prove who was the actual owner of the property and, an uninterrupted possession for more than 12 years was in the original owner's knowledge. Affirming the findings of the High Court and Trial Court, the Bench Comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan observed that the plaintiff wouldn't be entitled to claim the benefit of the adverse possession of the property if he failed to disclose the material averments in the plaint proving his adverse possession on the property. “To prove the plea of adverse possession: The plaintiff must plead and prove that he was claiming possession adverse to the true owner; The plaintiff must plead and establish that the factum of his long and continuous possession was known to the true owner; The plaintiff must also plead and establish when he came into possession; and The plaintiff must establish that his possession was open and undisturbed.” “It is a settled law that by pleading adverse possession, a party seeks to defeat the rights of the true owner, and therefore, there is no equity in his favour. The plaintiff couldn't prove the actual owner of the property to whom it is known that the plaintiff was in adverse possession of the property for more than 12 uninterrupted years.