Recovery of Possession — Sections 5, 6, 7 & 8 — KSLU Contract I Notes

Recovery of Possession (Ss.5–8)

The first reliefs in the Act protect possession itself. Sections 5–8 let a person recover property they have been wrongly deprived of — immovable property on the strength of title (s.5) or of mere prior possession (s.6), and movable property under ss.7–8.

Recovery of possession of immovable property (ss.5–6)

1. s.5 — a person entitled to possession of specific immovable property may recover it on the strength of his title, by an ordinary suit under the Code of Civil Procedure.

2. s.6 — a person dispossessed without his consent and otherwise than in due course of law may recover possession based on prior possession alone (even against the true owner), by a suit filed within six months. This protects possession and discourages people from taking the law into their own hands; no appeal or review lies, but the true owner may still sue on title under s.5.

Recovery of possession of movable property (ss.7–8)

1. s.7 — a person entitled to the possession of specific movable property may recover it in the manner provided by the CPC.

2. s.8 — a person in possession of an article to which he is not the owner may be compelled to deliver it to the person entitled where the article is held by the defendant as trustee/agent, or where money compensation would not be adequate, or where the actual damage cannot be ascertained (e.g. a unique article).

Case Laws

• [C-13] Krishna Ram Mahale v Shobha Venkat Rao (1989) — a person in settled possession cannot be dispossessed except by due process; s.6 protects possession itself.

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