Advocates:
A.P.MOHANTY, S.BAGGA, S.Baggar, SHIV DAYAL SHRIVASTAVA, SIRAJ BAGGA

The property in dispute was an evacuee property purchased through an auction sale. The original sale was held in 1962, but the purchaser failed to pay the full auction price, leading to the cancellation of the sale by the authorities. The purchaser challenged this cancellation and subsequently paid the remaining sale price in 1980, after which a sale certificate was issued confirming the purchaser’s title from a specific date, which was earlier than the date of the certificate itself (!) (!) .

The court held that the title to the property passes to the purchaser only upon the full payment of the purchase price and the issuance of the sale certificate, which relates back to the date of sale confirmation and the payment of the full amount. In this case, since the full price was paid before the sale was confirmed and the sale certificate was issued, the title was deemed to have passed on the date of sale confirmation, not on the date of certificate issuance (!) (!) .

The purchasers' possession was initially permissive, coming through lawful occupancy, and they did not demonstrate any overt acts to claim adverse possession. Their possession remained permissive until the sale was confirmed and the sale certificate issued, establishing that they did not acquire adverse possession rights during the period prior to the full payment and formal transfer of ownership (!) (!) .

The suit for possession was filed within the limitation period because the title had effectively passed to the purchaser at the time of sale confirmation, prior to the issuance of the sale certificate. Therefore, the claim was not barred by limitation, and the legal transfer of ownership was deemed to have occurred earlier than the date of the sale certificate (!) (!) .

Overall, the court emphasized that ownership rights are only transferred once all procedural requirements, including full payment and formal certification, are completed, and until then, possession remains permissive. The timing of these formalities is critical in determining the date of transfer and the commencement of limitation periods for possession claims.