If someone occupies your property in India without a legal right, you recover it through a civil suit for possession, supported where appropriate by a police complaint for criminal trespass, forgery or cheating. A person dispossessed without due process can file a fast summary suit within six months. A suit based on your title can be filed within twelve years. You do not have to be in India: an attorney holder can act for you throughout.
- Summary remedy
- Within 6 months of dispossession
- Suit on title
- Within 12 years
- Self-help eviction
- Not lawful, avoid it
- Police role
- Trespass, forgery, threats
Who is occupying, and why it matters
The remedy depends on how the occupier got in.
- Licensee or caretaker. A relative, friend or employee allowed to stay has only a licence. Once you revoke it in writing they must leave, and a suit for mandatory injunction and possession follows if they do not.
- Tenant. A tenant, even one in default, is protected by the state rent law and can be removed only through eviction proceedings.
- Co-owner. A sibling occupying the whole of a jointly owned house is not a trespasser. Your remedy is partition and a claim for your share of the rent or use value.
- Trespasser or land grabber. A stranger who has broken in, fenced a plot or built on it has no right at all, and both civil and criminal law apply in full.
- Buyer under a forged deed. Here the documents must be cancelled along with recovery of possession.
Civil remedies
The Specific Relief Act, 1963 provides two routes. Section 6 lets anyone dispossessed of immovable property otherwise than by due process of law sue for restoration within six months, without having to prove title: the court looks only at who was in possession. Section 5 covers the regular suit for possession based on ownership, with a twelve-year limitation under the Limitation Act, 1963.
With the suit we seek an injunction stopping the occupier from selling, letting out or building, and a claim for mesne profits, the money value of the wrongful use of your property from the date of occupation until you get it back. Where an encroachment is partial, such as a wall moved over a boundary, the court can order demarcation by a revenue officer and removal of the structure.
Police and criminal action
Civil courts restore possession; criminal law deters and punishes. Entering property with intent to intimidate or to commit an offence is criminal trespass under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and forging a sale deed, will or power of attorney attracts the provisions on forgery and cheating. A complaint can be filed online or through your attorney holder, and if the police do not register it you can approach the Superintendent of Police and then the Magistrate.
Several states have machinery specifically for overseas Indians. Punjab has NRI police stations in major districts and a State Commission for NRIs; other states run NRI cells in the police headquarters. Some states also have special land-grabbing statutes with dedicated courts. Used alongside the civil suit, these bring the occupier to the table sooner. Details are on our criminal law page.
Defences occupiers raise
Expect one of four answers: that you gifted or sold the property orally, that they are tenants, that they paid for the property in your name, or that they have perfected title by adverse possession. A sale of immovable property worth one hundred rupees or more, and any gift of immovable property, needs a registered deed; an oral claim fails on that ground alone, the oral gift under Muslim personal law being a narrow exception. Permissive possession, however long, does not ripen into ownership. Good records defeat most of these claims: your title deed, tax receipts in your name, a written caretaker arrangement and regular correspondence.
Preventing a repeat
Once possession is restored, protect it. Update the mutation and property tax record, put caretaker or tenancy arrangements in writing with short terms, fence and signpost vacant plots, visit or have the property inspected periodically, and never leave original title deeds with relatives or brokers. A narrowly drafted power of attorney to a reliable person, rather than informal arrangements, gives you someone with authority to act on the first sign of trouble.
Mistakes that cost NRIs time and money
- Letting a relative stay "for a few months" with nothing in writing.
- Accepting money from the occupier that can later be called rent.
- Trying to take possession by force or through local intermediaries.
- Treating a co-owner as a trespasser and filing the wrong kind of case.
A typical situation
The caretaker who would not leave
A family abroad lets a distant relative live in their vacant house to look after it. Eight years later he stops answering calls, has the electricity connection moved to his name and tells neighbours the house was given to him. A legal notice revokes the licence; a suit for mandatory injunction and possession follows, with tax receipts, the original deed and old messages showing he was a caretaker. Because his possession began with permission, his claim of ownership fails, and the decree is executed through the court bailiff.
Illustration only, based on patterns we commonly see. It is not a real client's case and outcomes depend on the facts.
If you live in...
The Indian law is the same wherever you live. These are the points that differ by where you are.
USA and Canada
For Punjab property, a complaint to the NRI police station and State Commission for NRIs alongside the civil suit often speeds things up.
UK and Europe
Long absences make adverse possession the main risk. If an occupier has openly claimed ownership, count the years from that date and act before twelve pass.
UAE and the Gulf
Plots bought as investments and left vacant are frequent targets. A boundary wall, signboard and periodic photographs cost little and prove possession.
Country pages: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain
Australia, New Zealand and Asia
Parents' homes left empty after their death should be secured immediately: change locks lawfully, update records and decide on a written caretaker arrangement.
Country pages: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia
Detailed country pages for this service: Illegal Possession in India: NRIs in Canada, Illegal Possession in India: NRIs in Europe
Documents you will need
The stronger your proof of ownership and prior possession, the faster interim relief comes.
- Registered title deed in your name or your parent's
- Latest revenue record and mutation
- Property tax and utility bills
- Any caretaker letter, rent agreement or messages with the occupier
- Photographs of the property before and after
- Details of when and how the occupation began
- Copies of any forged or disputed documents
- Earlier police complaints or notices
How we handle it for you
Fact check on the ground
We verify who is on the property, since when, and what the public records now show.
Notice to vacate
A legal notice revokes any licence and demands possession, creating a clear record of refusal.
Suit and injunction
We file for possession, injunction and mesne profits, and seek a local commissioner where needed.
Criminal complaint
Where there is trespass, forgery or intimidation, a complaint goes to the police or NRI cell in parallel.
Execution
After decree, the court bailiff, with police aid if ordered, delivers physical possession to your representative.
Frequently asked questions
How can an NRI remove illegal occupants from property in India?
By a civil suit for possession filed through a power of attorney holder, with an injunction against further dealings, and a police complaint where trespass or forgery is involved. Forcible self-help eviction should be avoided because it exposes the owner to criminal liability.
What is the time limit to recover possession of property in India?
Six months from dispossession for the summary suit under section 6 of the Specific Relief Act, and twelve years for a suit based on title. After twelve years of hostile possession the occupier may claim ownership by adverse possession.
Can a caretaker or relative claim ownership of my property?
Not merely by staying there. Possession with the owner's permission is not adverse, however long it continues. A claim arises only if they openly deny your title and you take no action for twelve years after that.
Will the police help in a property possession matter?
The police act on offences such as criminal trespass, forgery, cheating and threats, but they do not decide ownership or hand over possession in a civil dispute. A court decree is needed for that, which the police then assist in enforcing.
Can I claim compensation for the period my property was occupied?
Yes. You can claim mesne profits, which is the rent or benefit the occupier wrongly enjoyed, from the date their possession became unlawful until possession is delivered.
Do I need to be present in India for the possession case?
No. Your attorney holder signs pleadings and attends court, and your evidence can be recorded by video conferencing. Possession under the decree can be handed to your authorised representative.
Can an NRI file an FIR for land grabbing from abroad?
Yes. A complaint can be emailed to the police or filed by an authorised representative, and NRI cells in several states accept complaints directly from overseas. The police act on the criminal offence; possession is restored by the civil court.
What if the occupier has built on my land?
The court can order removal of the construction at the occupier's cost along with possession. Seeking an injunction early prevents further building while the suit is pending.
