In Brief
A Wakf Board sought recovery of land from a defendant who claimed ownership through adverse possession. The defendant's father had occupied the land from 1953, and the defendant continued after his death in 1987. The Wakf Board filed suit in 1971 against the father (dismissed for default) and again in 1991 against the defendant and two others. The trial court decreed the defendant's counter-claim for ownership based on adverse possession. The appellate courts reversed. The Supreme Court held: (1) the earlier suit's dismissal did not bar the present suit as it involved different parties; (2) a counter-claim cannot be used to assert ownership as it places the defendant in plaintiff's status; and (3) the defendant failed to establish 30 years' uninterrupted adverse possession because the Wakf Board's filing of suits in 1971 and 1991 broke the continuity required under the Wakf (Amendment) Act. Appeal dismissed.
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