The Supreme Court on August 28 gave liberty to people affected by a large-scale eviction conducted by the Railways on disputed land at Nai Basti near Krishnajanmasthan at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh to prove their ownership by “adverse possession” of the site in a civil court where their suits are pending.
A three-judge Bench headed by Justices Aniruddha Bose said the petitioner, Yakub Shah, cannot seek relief under Article 32 from a writ court. The plea of adverse possession of the occupants of the land in question has to be proved on the basis of evidence, which only a civil court could do. An occupier of land has to prove continuous possession of the property for at least 12 years to establish a claim of adverse possession.
Mr. Shah, who claims to be residing on the land, had filed the writ petition in the Supreme Court in a representative capacity. Senior advocate Prashanto Sen and advocate Kaushik Choudhury appeared for him in the apex court.
