A recent ruling by the Honourable Supreme Court of India has a significant effect on the Indian diaspora living abroad. This decision is now recognised as one that was based on the doctrine of adverse possession.

Any property owner has the free will to choose whether or not to use their land. The concept of “Adverse Possession” legalises the occupation (of the trespasser or caretaker as the case may be) over the property if the owner permits a caretaker to take possession of the property or if someone trespasses on the property and the owner does not act promptly to evict the trespasser or claim his property from the caretaker within Twelve years from the date of such possession. Based on a recent Supreme Court decision, the idea of adverse possession, which allows for the acquisition of ownership rights, has now been recognised in Article 65 of the Limitation Act.

According to the Supreme Court, anyone who has owned a piece of property continuously and unbrokenly for more than 12 years is entitled to ownership rights. The person in possession is permitted to raise an unfavourable defence against the actual owner. It has two different uses: a sword and a shield. If he has been evicted, he may defend his right, bring an action for possession, or request a declaration of his title after acquiring the ownership right through adverse possession.

Due to their inability to routinely travel to India to manage and preserve their real estate investments, NRIs are more likely to lose their properties there due to adverse possession. As a result, they typically nominate dependable family members or friends to serve as guardians of their properties. These agreements lack any documentation that would make them legally binding and are instead dependent on implicit faith. In most cases, these agreements last for many years or even decades. NRIs are now severely exposed to the schemes of avaricious relatives or friends who can profit by using the doctrine of adverse possession to claim ownership rights over such properties as a result of the recent ruling and the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the law of adverse possession.

We at NRI Paperwork Solutions have just established a totally distinct service devoted to cases connected to Adverse Possession in light of this recent verdict and the enormous impact it might have on NRIs. As part of this service, we give our clients comprehensive advice on the procedures to take to make sure the doctrine of Adverse Possession does not apply to them. We offer corrective services to make sure that our customers can legitimately claim their ownership rights and possession of the property in question when the doctrine of adverse possession has become applicable but the case has not yet gone to court. Last but not least, we also offer a thorough litigation service in cases where the individual in possession of the property has already asserted ownership rights under the doctrine of Adverse Possession and the case has already been elevated to Sub-Judice.