Title Without Possession Not Enough to Claim Property Rights: Supreme Court

In a significant ruling clarifying the law on property disputes, the Supreme Court has held that simply proving ownership or title over a property does not entitle a person to relief unless they are also in possession of it or seek recovery of possession through due legal process. The judgment, delivered by a bench of justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and justice K Vinod Chandran in S Santhana Lakshmi (plaintiff) vs D Rajammal (defendant) last month, reiterates that injunctions are meant to protect possession — not mere ownership on paper — and that plaintiffs must seek both declaration of title and recovery of possession if they are not in control of the property. "...we cannot but find the Will is proved, but the right of the testator to bequeath the property is still under a clou