I have a very important question, that could affect me in the long run. I'm from Uk and currently the land in question is in Amloh, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. Currently my father who use to be a citizen of india resides in the Uk he has a fair amount of property in india some of which he has inherited from his mom & father and brought at the right value. The family over in India ploughs and cultivates this land under no tenancy agreement. However the deeds are in our possession, unfortunately anything relating to the crop such as water bills, electric or crop selling is dealt in the family name not my father, this process has been carried out for a fair numbers of years now. In addition the family has recommended a squatter to live in a house on this land for several years now, could this be a hazard to us in the long run ? Can the family take over this land via adverse possession or any other law that may affect us in the long term. I am the child of my father, if anything happens to my father can they file a case ? Look forwards to your reply. Anonymous
Reply:
As long as the deeds are in your possession, that’s a valid evidence for proving the
ownership of land, in case of dispute.
The land which your father has purchased, he is the direct owner, but the inherited
ones, unless your father is the only legal heir, will automatically be shared by other
legal heirs, even though it is in your father’s name alone.
Land records in many of the villages in Punjab are now a days computerized.
You must know the latest status of entries, if any new mutation entries do appear,
perhaps fraudulent entries or any Kabza entries do appear on the 7/12 extract
(Revenue Record issued by Patwari where the farm land is situated), you need to get
latest 7/12 extract from Patwari.
As far as dwelling house is concerned, if its with the permission of the owner of the
land, its fine, else its matter of concern. You need to obtain full details of utilities
being paid by whom and under which names the utility bills are being issued by local
authorities.
Once you obtain latest Land Revenue Record of Rights from Patwari, the things will
get clear including adverse possession if occurred. As far as Adverse Possession is
concerned, a statutory period of 12 years is prescribed under the Limitation Act, 1963.
Within this period the owner of the property who is dispossessed is require to institute
a suit for possession of the said property. On failure to do so, true owner loses his
right over land.
You need to obtain latest mutation entries and forward me by Email for full review
and formal legal opinion.
Ibrahim Deshmukh
Legal Consultant
[email protected]
www.law-india.com