In Brief
Two property owners purchased adjoining land from a common vendor. The earlier purchaser's sale deed (1976) reserved a right of access over a 12-foot passage. The later purchaser (1988) claimed an exclusive right to the same passage through his sale deed. The High Court had granted the later purchaser exclusive rights. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that under the Transfer of Property Act, earlier-created rights in property take priority over later-created rights. Since the earlier purchaser's deed specifically reserved access rights, the later purchaser could not claim exclusivity. The reserved right persists as a contractual right and does not extinguish merely because circumstances change or property transfers."
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