SUPREME COURT’S RULING ON PROPERTY OWNERSHIP

Introduction:

‘Property’ is a private right of individual, protected by the Constitution of India. However, the definition is not that simple. The essentials to prove ownership of a property, laws dealing with lease of property, transfer of property, public property, private property, registration of sale deeds, law of adverse possession, rent laws, title over a property— everything stems out a simple word ‘Property’. Various special laws deal with these matters related to property. Therefore, it has undergone various debates in the judicial bench to determine the constituents of property and the essential conditions to be fulfilled to consider the nature of the property. However, dealing with most of the Supreme Court judgments, we will see there are ample number of cases where the Supreme Court clarified that registration if property is the key to prove ownership and title over it. Various suit and appeals by the parties claiming ownership of property were rejected by the court on the ground that nothing except registered sale deed would be able to hold the evidentiary value of the ownership of the property. 

Understanding the background of the case- K. Gopi v Sub Registrar

In the given judgment, the actual case came into the context, titled as K. Gopi vs. Sub registrar. In this case, the Supreme Court gave the decision which that registration of the property is just one of the main evidentiary value to claim ownership and not the sole evidence of it. 

In this case, the appellant believed that since registration is complete, therefore he would be able to then claim ownership of it. The main issue, hence, that got raised was whether registration would conclusively decide the ownership of a person over the property. However, the court replied negatively, stating that even though registration is one of the foremost evidence to claim ownership of a property, however it is not solely enough to vest ownership of a person over it. The bench was headed by Justice Abhay S. Oka who held that, under Registration Act of 1908, all documents as well as the sale deed should be registered. However, if a person could prove and show evidence of clear title or possession for long and  continuous period or stating the presence of lawful transfer, then in such cases, these factors would override the mere act of registration of documents. Therefore, it states that the evidentiary value of registration of documents with regards to property dispute shall not be held supreme. 

Legal Principles involved in this case:

Major legal provisions have been referred in this case by the court as well as both the parties to give legal validity to the claims and arguments. The following legal provisions are:-

1. Registration Act of 1908

According to this act, under Section 17, it states about mandatory registration of documents related to transfer of immovable property. This was held by the appellant, stating that his documents comply with the following provision of the act. 

However, this section no where stated about the conclusivity of the registration of documents for providing evidence, but instead this section is meant to keep an official record about the transaction of property taking place and the change in the ownership and title of the property from one person to another. 

2. Indian Evidence Act of 1872

According to Section 91 and 92 of the said act, it states about the acceptance of documents as a form of evidence. On this basis, the court opined that the evidence of documents are necessary, however it should not be laid as the soul purpose to claim ownership of a property. 

Major observation of the Supreme Court from this case:

The apex court, in this case clarified the confusion between the acceptance of registered documents as a necessary document and the sole document. The court held that registration of documents is a procedural act and that would not declare ownership of a person. 

In order to prove ownership, the court held that the following essential documents would be required:

1. Sale Deed of the property
2. Mother deed, that is, if there is any record of transfer of ownership in the past
3. Certificate of possession of the property
4. All records of mutilation
5. Certificate of encumbrance (Encumbrance means a burden or liability of a person) 
6. NOC- No objection certificate
7. Receipts of the property tax that was paid to the government

Possession is a step ahead to claim ownership:

Possession is considered as nine points of ownership. It is held in the property jurisprudence that a person having possession over the property hold better title over any other person except the person holding best title(that is the owner of the property).

Long possession of a person in a property was held as a reason to levy ownership of the property. This was even held in the past history, in the Code of Hammurabi, Charter of Magna Carta. Even, this was validated by the utilitarians through the doctrine of utilitarianism stating that a person should claim possession over a property even after not being the owner as he is better utilising the property than the owner who had left it idle. Further, according to the doctrine of Laches, law is only for the vigilant, not for those who sleep over their rights. Also, law of limitation applies to claim ownership of a property. For private properties, the limitation period is twelve years, within which the owner is supposed to file a suit to claim ownership over the property. 

On these given basis, law of adverse possession came into being in case, followed by other countries as well. According to the law of adverse possession, long, continuous and peaceful possession of a property along with compliance with other essentials could make a mere possessor the owner of the land. In the latest ruling by the supreme court, it was held that law of adverse possession could not only be claimed as a shield but also as a sword, overruling its previous decision which held that the law of adverse possession could only be treated as a shield as not to be held as a sword. Therefore, now, a possessor can also file a suit claiming ownership over a property based on the essential conditions to be met. 

Implications of the judgment:

This judgment would lead to various considerations that every person from now on should be cautious in case there is a property related dispute. The following measures that shall be held are:

1. Sale deed is not enough. So, the buyer must ensure that all other essential documents stated above are valid and thereby holding the value of evidence. 
2. It must be well ensured that the buyer of the property sees that the owner of the property possessed it and there is no scope for other person to claim ownership due to long and continuous possession over it
3. All documents of the property must be in the name of the seller, from whom the person is buying the property
4. Sellers must have proper title over that property so that no dispute arises in future. 
5. For real estate cases, it must be registered under RERA and shall comply with the guidelines of it. All documents shall be uploaded so that it is open to public inspection. 

Relevance of this case:

The case being the latest judgment, automatically bears its relevance. Further, since, around 66% of the civil cases deal with property related disputes, this case further provides special relevance in Indian context. Disputes related to tampered documents, unregistered sale deed, disputed title, lack of records in documents are often dealt by the Indian courts. 

Therefore this judgment set a clear clarification on the property related disputes. This would help people in better understanding the complexity of law in a simpler way and better aware of their rights. 

Important Case Law:

In the landmark case of Suraj Lamp Industries v. State of Haryana, in 2011, the Supreme Court held that sale of property through General Power of Attorney (GPA) would hold no validity without registration of property. 

In the landmark case of Satya Pal Anand v. State of Madhya Pradesh, in the year 2016, the Supreme Court gave the judgment stating that absence of clear title over the property, even though having the registration documents  would hold no legal validity by law. 

Conclusion:

The court conclusively held that the registration of documents shall not be treated as the ultimate evidence of claiming ownership. This decision led to understand that registration is not equivalent to ownership of the property. Property being an essential, private matter, everyone should be well vigilant about their rights. 

AUTHOR: BIJITA ADHIKARY

Citations:

The sources that were referred are:

1.  ET Online, ‘Supreme Court gives important ruling on property ownership, says land registration alone is not enough’ (The Economic Times, 10 June 2025) https://m.economictimes.com/news/india/supreme-court-gives-important-ruling-on-property-ownership-says-land-registration-alone-is-not-enough/articleshow/121752219.cms accessed 12 June 2025.
2. LawChakra, You Don’t Own Property, Just Because You Registered It: Supreme Court Drops a Bombshell (LawChakra, 11 June 2025) https://lawchakra.in/supreme-court/think-you-own-that-property-says/ accessed 12 June 2025. 
3. Satya Pal Anand v State of Madhya Pradesh [2016] 10 SCC 767 (SC)
4. Satya Pal Anand v State of Madhya Pradesh [2016] 10 SCC 767 (SC).