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Title disputes, possession and injunctions

When someone encroaches on land, threatens to build on it, or tries to sell what is not theirs, the first question is never "who will win at trial". It is "how do we stop this today". That is what an injunction is for.

Title disputes, possession and injunctions — Advocate Pravesh Prasad Joshi, Dehradun

Written by Dehradun, Uttarakhand Last reviewed August 2026

Injunctions and stay orders

A temporary injunction under Order XXXIX CPC preserves the position while a suit is decided. Three things must be shown together, and a case failing any one of them will not get the order:

  • A prima facie case — a serious question to be tried, not necessarily a winning one.
  • Balance of convenience — that more harm follows from refusing the order than from granting it.
  • Irreparable injury — harm that money cannot afterwards repair.

Suits for possession and declaration

Where possession has already been lost, the remedy depends on how it was lost. A suit for possession based on title asserts ownership. A suit under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act allows a person dispossessed otherwise than in due course of law to recover possession quickly — without even proving title — but it must be brought within six months. Where the dispute is about what the documents mean, a declaratory suit settles the position.

Adverse possession

A person in possession that is open, continuous, hostile and to the knowledge of the true owner for twelve years may defeat the owner's title. Permissive possession — a tenant, a licensee, a relative allowed to stay — never becomes adverse merely by lasting a long time; it becomes adverse only from an open denial of the owner's title. The lesson for owners is simple: silence is dangerous, and encroachment should be answered on paper as soon as it appears.

Before you buy land

Most title litigation could have been avoided in the week before the purchase:

  • Trace the title back — thirty years is the conventional search.
  • Inspect the revenue record; confirm the Khasra and Khatauni entries match the seller's claim.
  • Obtain an encumbrance certificate and check for mortgages, charges and pending litigation.
  • Visit the site and verify boundaries against the record — not against what you are told.
  • Confirm land use and conversion status, and in Uttarakhand confirm any restrictions applicable to the purchase of agricultural land.

Weighing it up

Every remedy costs something as well as giving something. Both sides, plainly.

What it gives you

  • An injunction works immediatelyWhere construction is under way, an ad-interim order can stop it the same day. Very little in law is that fast.
  • Section 6 is a genuine shortcutA person dispossessed without due process recovers possession without proving title. Six months, and you do not need the deed.
  • Declaration settles the question permanentlyWhere the documents are disputed, a declaratory decree ends it for good.
  • Permissive possession never ripensA tenant or a relative allowed to stay does not become an owner by staying long. Owners are better protected than they fear.

What it costs you

  • An injunction can be lost as fast as it was gotAn ex parte order lasts until the other side is heard. People treat it as a victory; it is a pause.
  • Suppression destroys youInterim orders are obtained on your word alone. Concealing a material fact — an earlier case, a document that hurts — gets the order vacated and taints the whole suit.
  • Six months is short and unforgivingThe Section 6 remedy expires quickly, and people spend those months complaining to the police instead.
  • Title suits run for yearsEstablishing title through trial is slow, documentary and expensive.
  • Breach is common and remedy is slowConstruction continues in defiance of the order, and contempt takes its own time. Meanwhile the building goes up.

What it looks like in practice

The part that is rarely written down — what the days, the queues and the waiting actually feel like.

The week the wall goes up

The pattern is invariable. A neighbour begins building. You object verbally. He continues. You complain to the police, who correctly say it is a civil matter. A fortnight passes. By the time you reach a lawyer the structure is complete — and demolition of a completed structure is a very different, much harder application than restraining one in progress.

Photograph and date everything the day it starts. A dated photograph of a foundation is worth more than a dozen witnesses two years later.

Send a written objection immediately, by registered post. Silence is read as acquiescence, and a dated letter converts "he never objected" into "he objected on the third day".

Before you buy — the week that saves a decade

Most title litigation was avoidable in the week before purchase. Trace the title back thirty years. Inspect the revenue record and confirm the Khasra and Khatauni entries match what the seller says. Obtain an encumbrance certificate. Get a demarcation done. Visit the site and check the boundaries against the record — not against what you are shown.

In Uttarakhand, confirm land use and conversion status, and confirm any restriction applicable to the purchase of agricultural land. Buyers discover these restrictions after paying, which is the worst possible moment.

A seller who is impatient about a title search is telling you something. The pressure to close quickly is itself information.

Mistakes that recur

The same avoidable errors arrive in chamber after chamber. Most cost far more than any fee.

  1. Relying on the police for a boundary or possession dispute. It is civil, and the fortnight spent at the police station is the fortnight the wall was built.
  2. Removing the encroachment yourself, and becoming the accused.
  3. Losing the six-month Section 6 window while complaining to authorities.
  4. Suppressing a material fact when applying for an ex parte injunction.
  5. Buying on the strength of a mutation entry, believing it proves title. It does not.

Common questions

How quickly can a stay order be obtained?

Where the threat is immediate, an application for an ex parte ad-interim injunction can be moved at the time of filing and heard the same day. Such an order is short-lived and must be confirmed after the other side is heard.

Someone has occupied my land — what do I do first?

Act quickly and on paper. Depending on the facts the route may be a police complaint, an injunction, or a suit for possession — and under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act a person dispossessed without due process has only six months to use that summary remedy.

Does long possession by a tenant create ownership?

No. Permissive possession does not become adverse by passage of time alone. It only turns adverse from an open, hostile denial of the owner's title communicated to the owner.

This guide sets out general information about the law as it applies in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. It is not legal advice, and it is no substitute for advice on your own facts. The law changes, and how it applies varies from case to case.

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