Land encroachment / illegal possession (kabza) India — BNS s.329 trespass, BNSS s.164, Specific Relief Act s.6, revenue demarcation (2026)
First-steps map when someone encroaches on your land, shifts a boundary, or takes illegal possession (kabza) of a plot, house or farmland in India: get records and demarcation, the criminal route (criminal trespass under BNS s.329, old IPC 441/447/448; BNSS s.164, old CrPC 145), the civil route (Specific Relief Act s.6 suit within six months, title suit under s.5, injunction, the 12-year limitation risk), and State revenue routes such as UP Revenue Code s.24 and MP Land Revenue Code s.250. Educational only — not legal advice; Adhiwakta does not file cases or visit sites.
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First — know what you hold and what has been taken
Collect the title chain (sale deed, gift deed, partition, will / succession papers), mutation entry and current revenue records (khatauni / jamabandi / 7/12 / RoR, as your State calls them), the khasra / survey number and village map, property-tax or electricity records, and photographs or videos of the encroachment with dates. Encroachment of a strip along a boundary is a different problem from someone occupying the whole plot, and both differ from a tenant or licensee who refuses to leave (see our tenant-not-vacating guide).
Demarcation (seemankan / paimaish) through the revenue office
Many boundary disputes are settled by an official measurement. Apply to the Tehsil / revenue authority for demarcation with the khasra number and map; the record of measurement (and the field book) becomes key evidence later. State laws differ: for example, under Section 24 of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006 the Sub-Divisional Officer decides boundary disputes in summary proceedings on the basis of survey maps or, where needed, actual possession, with an appeal to the Commissioner. Check your own State’s land revenue code and the online land-records portal.
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Write in Hindi or English · general guidance, not legal advice
Criminal route — trespass and related offences
Entering or unlawfully remaining on property in another’s possession with intent to commit an offence or to intimidate, insult or annoy is criminal trespass under Section 329 BNS (old IPC 441): punishable with up to 3 months, or fine up to ₹5,000, or both (s.329(3), old IPC 447); house-trespass of a dwelling up to 1 year, or fine up to ₹5,000, or both (s.329(4), old IPC 448). These are cognizable and bailable. Threats can add criminal intimidation (s.351, old IPC 506), and fake papers can add forgery offences (e.g. s.336(3), old IPC 468). File a written complaint / FIR under BNSS s.173; if refused, go to the SP (s.173(4)) and then the Magistrate (s.175(3)). Police generally do not decide who owns the land — that is for civil and revenue forums.
BNSS s.164 (old CrPC 145) — when the dispute threatens peace
Where a dispute over land or water is likely to cause a breach of the peace, an Executive Magistrate (SDM) can act on a police report or other information under Section 164 BNSS: call the parties, decide who was in actual possession (not who owns it), and protect that possession; a party found to have been forcibly and wrongfully dispossessed within two months before the report may be treated as in possession. It is a peace-keeping remedy, not a title decision.
Civil route — Specific Relief Act s.6 (six months) and s.5 (title)
If you were dispossessed of immovable property without your consent and otherwise than in due course of law, Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 lets you sue to recover possession on the basis of prior possession alone, without proving title — but the suit must be filed within six months of dispossession, cannot be brought against the Government, and no appeal lies from the order (title can still be fought in a regular suit). After six months, or where title is disputed, a regular suit for possession based on title under Section 5 is used, usually with a prayer for temporary injunction under Order XXXIX CPC (see our Order 39 guide) to stop construction or transfer while the case is pending.
Limitation — do not let 12 years run
Under the Limitation Act, 1963, a suit for possession based on previous possession is generally 12 years from dispossession (Article 64), and a suit based on title is 12 years from when the defendant’s possession becomes adverse to you (Article 65). Long, open and hostile possession by an encroacher can ripen into an adverse-possession defence. Written objections, notices, police complaints and court cases filed in time help show you never accepted the occupation.
State-specific routes (examples)
Revenue codes often give a quicker remedy for agricultural land. In Madhya Pradesh, Section 250 of the MP Land Revenue Code, 1959 lets a bhumiswami dispossessed otherwise than in due course of law apply to the Tahsildar for restoration of possession — within two years of dispossession (five years for members of notified aboriginal tribes), per the text we checked; confirm the current amendment. In Uttar Pradesh, encroachment on Gram Sabha / public land is dealt with under Section 67 of the UP Revenue Code, 2006. Some States have special anti-land-grabbing laws (for example the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011 and the Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020) with special courts or committees. Names, forums and deadlines differ — check your State before filing.
Practical cautions
Do not use force or bring in a group of people to evict an encroacher — that can expose you to criminal cases. Do not sign a ‘compromise’ or boundary memo without a fresh measurement. Do not buy or sell disputed land without disclosing the dispute. Keep dated photographs and get a copy of every revenue order, as appeal and revision periods in revenue codes are short.
What this guide is not
It is not a decision on your title, not a guarantee that police or revenue officers will act, and not a substitute for reading your State’s land revenue code. Government land, forest land and urban development-authority land follow separate rules.
How Adhiwakta can help
We do not file suits, revenue applications or police complaints, and do not visit or measure land. Adhiwakta is a facilitation platform, not a law firm. We do not file cases, appear before any authority, or promise any result. Use Ask Adhiwakta to describe your situation for general guidance from an independent advocate, or start with the AI helper to organise your facts and papers. Educational only — not formal legal advice.
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Frequently asked questions
- Someone has encroached on my land. Should I go to police or court?
- Often both, for different purposes. Police handle criminal trespass, threats and forgery (BNS ss.329, 351, 336). Ownership and possession are decided by civil courts and, for agricultural land, revenue authorities. Start with records and an official demarcation.
- What is the six-month rule under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act?
- If you were dispossessed without consent and otherwise than by due process, you can sue within six months to recover possession based on prior possession alone, without proving title. It cannot be filed against the Government, and no appeal lies; title can still be decided in a regular suit.
- Can an encroacher become the owner?
- Long, open and hostile possession can support an adverse-possession claim; suits for possession are generally limited to 12 years (Limitation Act Arts. 64–65). Acting early with written objections and cases helps protect your rights.
- What is BNSS Section 164?
- It replaced CrPC s.145. An Executive Magistrate can intervene in a land dispute likely to cause breach of peace, decide who is in actual possession (not title) and protect it.
- Does Adhiwakta file land cases?
- No. We do not file suits, revenue applications or police complaints. Use Ask Adhiwakta or the AI helper for general educational guidance only.
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