Caretaker can’t claim property ownership: SC

 Caretaker can’t claim property ownership: SC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:25.09.2021

The Supreme Court has said a caretaker/ servant can never acquire interest in the property irrespective of his long possession and he has to vacate the premises on owner’s demand.

The SC set aside the order of a trial court and high court which had refused to allow a plea of an owner for not proceeding on a suit filed by a caretaker seeking that he be not vacated from the premises.

The trial judge had dismissed the application on the premise that these are the subject matter of disputes which can be examined only after the written statement being filed at the behest of the owner and is not within the scope of Order VII Rule11, Civil Procedure Code and that order was confirmed by the high court. Order 7 Rule 11(d) of CPC provides that the plaint shall be rejected “where the suit appears from the statement in the plaint to be barred by any law”.

Setting aside the order, a bench headed by Justice Ajay Rastogi said, “...the trial court has committed a manifest error in appreciating the pleadings on record from the plaint filed at the instance of respondent No. 1-plaintiff who as a caretaker/servant can never acquire interest in the property irrespective of his long possession and the caretaker/ servant has to give possession forthwith on demand and so far as the plea of adverse possession is concerned...”