10 July 2025 FACT RECORDER
Himachal Desk: Himachal Pradesh High Court Upholds Inheritance Rights Over Illegal Possession of Government Land The Himachal Pradesh High Court has ruled that adverse possession gained through encroachment on government land is inheritable. In a significant judgment, Justice Vivek Singh Thakur dismissed the state government’s appeal and upheld the decision of the district court, which recognized Sukan Devi’s right to the government land occupied by her late husband through adverse possession.
According to the court’s decision, Sukan Devi now has the legal right to retain possession of the property and have her name recorded in the revenue records as the rightful owner. Citing the Supreme Court’s precedent in the case of Ravindra Kaur Grewal vs. Manjit Kaur & Others, the High Court affirmed that adverse possession can be transferred through inheritance.
The court noted that revenue authorities had knowledge of the unauthorized possession by the deceased husband, Gurdas, since 1963. After completing 30 years of continuous possession, the possession became lawful adverse possession, which is transferable to legal heirs.
The judgment also referenced Section 46 of the Revenue Act, which grants affected persons the right to file a declaratory suit to be recorded as owners in revenue records.
This was the second appeal filed by the state government challenging the inheritance of possession acquired through encroachment. The state contested the order passed by the District Judge, Bilaspur, on October 12, 2015, which confirmed the decision of the Civil Judge (Junior Division) dated April 30, 2015.
Sukan Devi argued that her husband, Gurdas, had occupied state land since January 13, 1963, and constructed a residential house there. She claimed that after 30 years of continuous, peaceful, and uninterrupted possession, her husband acquired ownership rights on January 13, 1993. Gurdas passed away on June 18, 2008, after which Sukan Devi maintained possession of the property and sought to have her name recorded as the owner in the revenue records.
The High Court’s ruling thus affirms the inheritance rights of adverse possession even on government land, setting an important legal precedent in property disputes involving encroachment.
