Property Disputes

No. A General Power of Attorney transaction does not convey title the way a registered sale deed does.

The Supreme Court settled this in Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana. GPA-based transfers remain extremely common in Delhi, and holders are often surprised to learn they hold possession and a contractual claim rather than title. Whether your position can still be protected depends on possession, the chain of documents and how long you have held it — it is the single most important thing to assess early.

Contested title and partition suits commonly run for several years.

Interim orders, however, usually arrive within the first weeks. In most Delhi property disputes whether you obtain a stay early shapes the next three years more than anything argued at final hearing. Mediation resolves family partitions considerably faster where the parties will engage.

File a suit for possession with an application for an interim injunction, and do it quickly.

Delay is the main risk — the longer an occupant remains, the stronger their position becomes on questions of adverse possession and balance of convenience. Photographs, electricity and tax records and any correspondence establishing when the encroachment began are the evidence that matters.

Yes, by applying for a temporary injunction along with the suit.

The court looks at three things: a prima facie case, the balance of convenience and whether you would suffer irreparable injury. Delhi courts do grant stays on construction, but they expect the application to be moved promptly — waiting until the structure is complete substantially weakens it.

It asks the court to determine each co-owner's share and divide the property accordingly.

Delhi partition suits proceed in two stages: a preliminary decree declaring the shares, then a final decree giving effect to the division by metes and bounds, or by sale and distribution where physical division is not possible. That two-stage structure is why these matters take as long as they do.

Yes. In coparcenary property governed by Hindu law, daughters have the same rights as sons.

The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 conferred coparcenary status on daughters, and in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020) the Supreme Court confirmed the right does not depend on the father being alive on the date of the amendment. This applies to ancestral coparcenary property, not to self-acquired property disposed of by a valid will.

No — a co-owner can ordinarily transfer only their own undivided share.

Purported sales of an entire property by one co-owner are a frequent trigger for partition suits and injunction applications. A purchaser in that position acquires only the seller's share and steps into the dispute.

It is a claim to ownership based on long, open, continuous and hostile possession — and yes, it is a real risk if you ignore an occupant for years.

The period is ordinarily twelve years against a private owner and thirty against the government. The claim requires possession that is to the true owner's knowledge and against their interest. The practical lesson is simple: act on unauthorised occupation early and in writing.

You can claim possession with compensation, or a refund with interest — through RERA, the consumer commissions, or the NCLT.

RERA is usually the fastest route for delay and refund claims on registered projects. The consumer commissions remain available for deficiency in service. Which forum suits depends on what you actually want: a refund, possession, or compensation for the delay.

Freehold gives you absolute ownership; leasehold gives you rights under a lease from a public authority, usually the DDA or the L&DO, for a fixed term.

A great deal of Delhi housing began as leasehold DDA property. Conversion to freehold requires an application and clearance of arrears and unauthorised construction. Disputes commonly arise over documentation and dues rather than over title itself.

Trace the chain of title back at least thirty years, and verify it against the sub-registrar's records rather than the seller's photocopies.

The essential checks are the mother deed and every subsequent transfer, mutation records, current property tax position, the sanctioned building plan, encumbrance and any pending litigation. A title search costs a small fraction of the purchase and of the litigation that follows a defective one.

Through an eviction petition — the route depends on whether the Delhi Rent Control Act applies.

The Act applies to lower-rent premises and restricts eviction to specified grounds such as bona fide requirement or default. Above the threshold, an ordinary civil suit applies and is generally quicker. Whether the tenancy is registered and what the rent is will determine which door you use.

Compensation for the period someone wrongfully occupied your property.

It is normally claimed together with a suit for possession and calculated on the market rent for the period of unlawful occupation. Claiming it from the outset matters — it is much harder to add later.

Registration is not compulsory, but it makes a will substantially harder to challenge — and yes, wills are regularly challenged.

A will must be signed by the testator and attested by two witnesses. Challenges usually allege forgery, unsound mind, coercion, or suspicious circumstances such as an unnatural exclusion of one heir. Where a will is disputed, probate or letters of administration become the battleground.

It depends on the relief. A suit for possession of immovable property, whether based on title (Article 65 of the Limitation Act, 1963) or on prior possession (Article 64), must be filed within 12 years. A suit for a declaration generally has 3 years (Article 58). A summary suit under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 by someone dispossessed without due process must be filed within 6 months.

The starting point differs: dispossession (Article 64 and Section 6), the date the defendant's possession became adverse (Article 65), or the date the right to sue first accrued (Article 58), so assess it at the first consultation.

Largely yes, through a properly executed power of attorney.

A POA executed abroad ordinarily needs notarisation and apostille or attestation at the Indian mission, then adjudication and stamping in India. It must specifically authorise filing suits and swearing affidavits. Choosing a holder whose interests do not conflict with yours matters — misuse of a POA by a relative is itself a common cause of these disputes.

The title documents you hold, mutation records, tax receipts, any agreement or GPA, photographs of current possession and a dated chronology.

The chronology is the most useful and the most frequently missing. When possession changed, when the dispute began, what notices were exchanged and what payments were made usually determine what can be argued.

Test settlement seriously first — a negotiated division recorded in a decree usually gives everyone a marketable title years earlier.

Delhi courts refer a large proportion of partition matters to mediation, and family disputes settle there more often than people expect. Litigating is the right answer where one side is acting in bad faith or has already alienated property, but it should be a considered choice rather than a default.