U.V. Bakre, J.

The above Second Appeal takes exception to the Judgment and Decree dated 30/11/2002 passed by the 1st Additional District Judge, South Goa, Margao (first Appellate Court) in Regular Civil Appeal No. 62 of 1999, which was filed by the defendants of Special Civil Suit No. 117/96/II, against the Judgment and Decree dated 29/04/1999, passed by the 2nd Additional Civil Judge, Senior Division, Margao (trial Court) in the said suit. The defendants of the said Special Suit have filed cross-objection in the present Second Appeal. This common judgment shall dispose of the Second Appeal as well as the cross-objection.

2. The parties shall hereinafter be referred to as per their status in the said Special Civil Suit.

3. The plaintiffs had filed the said suit for recovery of possession and permanent injunction for directing the defendants to remove the compound wall, the room and the store room and whatever encroachments that may be existing in the suit property and to give vacant possession thereof to the plaintiffs and to restrain the defendants, their relatives, etc. from interfering with the suit property. Case of the plaintiffs, in short, was as follows:

There is a property known as “Boiridevanaicalem Chicolantoy Tata Santunaicalem Calandra” situated at Mazilvaddo of Benaulim, Salcete-Goa. 3/4th of the said property (northern portion) constitutes a distinct and separate property described in the Land Registration Office of Salcete under No. 31073 of Book B No. 80 (new), and bounded on the East by the public road; on the West by the property of Francisquinha Dias and the heirs of Fr. Joaquim Moniz; on the North by that of the heirs of Joao Vicente Fernandes; and on the South by the remaining 1/4th part of the same property belonging to Xencora Madeva Sinai Quencro and his wife Umabai Sinaini. The said 3/4th northern portion is surveyed under nos. 280/2 and 280/3 of Benaulim Village and the same belongs to the plaintiffs. The remaining 1/4th portion (southern portion) which is a separate property belongs to the defendants. The land bearing survey No. 280/3 is the suit property. The defendants got the suit property surveyed jointly in the name of mother/mother-in-law of the defendants, namely Mrs. Maria Piedade Rebello along with the plaintiff no. 2, Mrs. Marianinha Fernandes. Taking advantage of the erroneous survey, and about ten years prior to the filing of the suit, the defendants made various encroachments in the suit property namely construction of compound wall on the northern boundary, a room and also a store room therein. The plaintiffs, being poor, could not react immediately. However since the defendants would not remove the encroachments, the plaintiffs filed the suit in the month of March, 1996.

4. The defendants, by way of their written statement, denied, for want of knowledge, that the plaintiffs were owners of the property described in paragraph 1 of the plaint and that the same bears survey nos. 280/2 and 280/3. They admitted that 1/4th of the property “Boiridevanaicalem Chicolantoy Tata Santunaicalem Calandra” belonged to Xencora Madeva Sinai Quencro and his wife Umabai Sinaini. They stated that they purchased the same along with two parcels annexed to it from the respective owners and the said two parcels together with 1/4th part are adjoining each other and form one property which is possessed by the defendants. The suit property bearing survey no. 280/3 belongs exclusively to the defendants and has been in their possession for more than 50 years which possession has been peaceful, uninterrupted and continuous, without any obstruction from any person, which by itself gives prescriptive title to the defendants. The defendants alleged that the compound wall has been existing from the year 1970 and the room and store room were in existence fore more than 50 years though they were reconstructed in the year 1973. The said room and store room are adjoining to each other and besides these structures