If someone has occupied your house, plot or farmland in India while you were in Europe, you can recover possession through the civil court, and in clear cases with police help, without returning for every hearing. A suit under the Specific Relief Act within six months of dispossession is the fastest route. After that, a title suit for possession can be filed within twelve years. Criminal trespass and forgery are separately punishable.
- Document route
- Local notary + apostille, or Indian Embassy
- Time difference
- 3.5 to 5.5 hours behind IST
- Handled in India at
- Civil court and police
- Travel to India
- Rarely; evidence by video
How it works from Europe
We first secure the documents that prove your case: title deed, latest revenue record, property tax and electricity bills, and photographs or witness statements showing when the occupation began. A legal notice is sent, and where the facts fit, a complaint is filed with the police or the NRI cell for criminal trespass, and for forgery and cheating if a fake sale deed or power of attorney was used. Punjab has dedicated NRI police stations and an NRI Commission that take such complaints by email.
The civil suit is filed with an application for an injunction to stop the occupier from selling, building or changing the nature of the land. If the occupier is a tenant or a licensee whose term has ended, the remedy is eviction under the rent law or a suit for possession on termination of licence. If a caretaker or relative was let in by you, we plead permissive possession, which defeats a claim of adverse possession. You give evidence by video conference or through your attorney holder.
What is different for NRIs in Europe
- Delay is the occupier's best argument. Twelve years of open, hostile possession can extinguish title, so act as soon as you learn of it.
- A power of attorney from an apostille country in Europe is notarised and apostilled there, with a certified English translation if the notary's certificate is not in English.
- Do not accept cash settlements or sign blank papers on a short visit. Record any settlement in a registered document or a court compromise.
Step by step from Europe
Free review call
Calls are held in the European morning, while offices in India are open. We read your papers on recovery of occupied property first, so the call is about your options and not a repeat of the facts.
Authority from Europe
Where a representative must act for you in India on recovery of occupied property, you sign before a local notary and obtain the apostille of that country with an English translation, or attend the Indian embassy. We draft the document and send signing instructions.
Work in India
In India, we collect proof of title and of the date of occupation, send notice, file the complaint and move the court for an injunction and possession. Updates for clients in Europe go by email and WhatsApp with scans of whatever is filed.
Result and handover
At the end you receive each order as it is passed and possession is taken through the court bailiff. Originals are couriered to your address in Europe if you need them.
The law in full
This page covers what changes when you handle recovery of occupied property from Europe. For the Indian law, the complete document checklist, common mistakes and more questions, read our main page on Illegal Possession & Encroachment. For other matters, see all legal services for NRIs in Europe or the Property & Real Estate practice area.
Questions from NRIs in Europe
Can the police remove a trespasser from my property?
Police act where a recent, forcible entry is clear and you hold undisputed title. Where the occupier claims some right, the police will leave it to the civil court.
How long does a possession suit take?
A summary suit for recent dispossession can conclude within a year or two. A full title suit takes longer, which is why interim orders at the start matter.
My relative occupies the land and says I abandoned it. Is that a defence?
Living abroad is not abandonment. A co-owner or permitted occupier does not acquire title merely because the owner was away.