The Supreme Court, in a significant ruling on property law, has held that a suit for declaration of title filed after decades of inaction is barred by limitation, applying the doctrine of constructive notice. A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and S.V.N. Bhatti set aside the judgments of the Karnataka High Court and a trial court, dismissing a suit filed by a woman claiming ownership of 24 acres of land based on an alleged oral gift (Hiba) and inheritance.

The Court concluded that the plaintiff’s failure to assert her rights for over 23 years, despite multiple public transactions concerning the property, meant she was deemed to have constructive knowledge of adverse claims, thereby extinguishing her right to sue.

Background of the Case

The dispute concerned agricultural land mea

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