In Brief
A man purchased government property at public auction in 1964 and filed suit in 1979 to evict occupants. The occupants (defendants) claimed they had owned the land for generations and had acquired title by adverse possession. The High Court dismissed the suit, finding the occupants' possession had matured into ownership after 12 years. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that adverse possession requires clear, hostile, continuous possession to the knowledge and against the acknowledgment of the true owner. Here, the occupants merely claimed long possession without explicitly denying the plaintiff's title or the government's authority to sell, nor did they establish hostile intent. The Court decreed the suit and upheld the plaintiff's title."
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