In a recent judgment where the Supreme Court gave judgment in favor of an old widow woman whose property has been seized by the Himachal Pradesh government for construction of a road. The government took the plea of adverse possession and even the government failed to pay compensation for 52 years.
The bench judged by Indu Malhotra pronounced that, “A welfare state cannot be permitted to take the plea of adverse possession, which allows a trespasser i.e. a person guilty of a tort, or even a crime, to gain legal title over such property for over 12 years. The State cannot be permitted to perfect its title over the land by invoking the doctrine of adverse possession to grab the property of its own citizens [iv] By this recent judgment, it was made clear that although the doctrine of adverse possession is given in favor of those who occupy the land for a specific period of time which is prescribed under the Limitation Act, 1963. But there is an exception to this doctrine which cannot be misused for one’s personal motive or gain. This law, on the other hand, justifies itself for those who took care of the land for a long period of time and by adverse possession they can gain ownership over the land.