Whether plaintiff can claim declaration of ownership of land on basis of adverse possession ?

Gurdwara Sahib v. Gram Panchayat Village Sirthala, (2014) 1 SCC 669
Contract and Specific Relief
Specific Relief Act, 1963
S. 34 - Declaratory decree - Declaration of ownership of land on basis of adverse possession cannot be sought by
plaintiff - But claim of ownership by adverse possession can be made by way of defence when arrayed as defendant in
proceedings against him - While recording finding that appellant-plaintiff was in adverse possession of suit land, held,
trial court rightly refused to grant decree declaring that plaintiff's adverse possession matured into ownership - Appellant-
plaintiff being in possession of suit land for long (more than 12 yrs) and having been granted decree of injunction
restraining respondent-defendants from dispossessing plaintiff therefrom, its possession cannot be disturbed except by
due process of law - Though appellant's suit seeking declaration of ownership by adverse possession stood dismissed, in
case of respondents' filing suit for possession and/or ejectment of appellant, it would be open to appellant to plead in
defence that appellant had become owner of suit land by adverse possession - At that stage it would also be open to
appellant to plead that previous finding regarding appellant's adverse possession operated as res judicata, 
Civil Procedure Code, 1908
S. 100 - Perverse finding of High Court in second appeal - Trial court granted injunction restraining respondent-
defendants from dispossessing appellant-plaintiff from suit land which was in adverse possession of plaintiff - But it
refused to grant decree of plaintiff's ownership of suit land by adverse possession - Decree pertaining to preventive
injunction not challenged by defendants and thus same became final - But appellant filed first appeal against refusal to
grant declaration of plaintiff's ownership by adverse possession - While dismissing appeal, first appellate court also
observed that absence of respondent-defendants' appeal indicated respondents' acceptance of appellant's adverse
possession - In second appeal, High Court, while denying relief of ownership by adverse possession, denied injunction
earlier granted, by observing that owner of suit land being Gram Panchayat and appellant being in possession thereof
without any right, it had no right to seek injunction against Gram Panchayat - Held, this finding of High Court was
perverse, unnecessary and beyond scope of second appeal when respondents, by not challenging decree pertaining to
injunction, had accepted adverse possession of suit land, 

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