Adverse Possession

Adverse possession is the acquisition of title by someone who has openly, continuously and hostilely possessed land belonging to another for the statutory limitation period - twelve years against a private owner in India.

The possession must be actual, open, hostile to the true owner's rights, and uninterrupted for the whole period; permissive occupation such as a tenancy can never ripen into adverse possession. Against government land the period is thirty years. In diligence terms, long-standing unexplained occupation by someone other than the recorded owner is a material red flag that a physical inspection will surface and a paper search will not.