In a Suit For Possession, Prior Possession Becomes Relevant When Both Parties Fail To Establish Title: Supreme Court
Last Updated on April 7, 2023 by Administrator
What:
“When both parties fail to establish title, prior possession becomes relevant in a suit for possession”: Apex Court.
Facts:
The side that can demonstrate earlier possession will prevail in a possession lawsuit if neither party has proven title, the Supreme Court has ruled. With the exception of the person with the title to the property, this right of the person with prior possession is valid against everyone.
The adage “Possessio contra omnes valet praeter eur cui ius sit possessionis” (He who has possession has right against everyone save him who has the exact right) was utilised by the Court in this case.
In this regard, it was mentioned the ruling in Nair Service Society Ltd v. Rev. Father K. C. Alexander & Ors AIR 1968 SC 1165, which stated: “A party ousted by a person who has no better right is, with reference to the person so ousting, entitled to recover by virtue of the possession he had held prior to the ouster even though that “possession was without any title.”
The bench further noted that the defendant’s assertion that a third party holds title to the property in a possession lawsuit is unsupportable. The Latin phrase “jus tertii” (which translates to “right of a third party”) is the name of this defence strategy. It is a defence argument used in opposition to a claim of property interest that a third party has a superior claim. Yet such a claim cannot be upheld in a trespass lawsuit.
The bench stated that “no defendant in an action of trespass can argue the doctrine of jus tertii that the right of possession outstanding in some third person.”
The defendants in a lawsuit had appealed the prohibitory and obligatory injunctions that had been issued against them with regard to certain properties, and the bench was making that decision.
Case Law: Shivashankara vs HP Vedavyasa Char
Written By – Shivank
