Encroachment is dealt with in two stages: first, prove the boundaries, and then choose the remedy that fits the harm. Nothing useful can be done on the ground until the extent of the encroachment is measured against your own document, so a survey and demarcation comes first, followed by a civil suit for injunction, possession and removal of the unauthorised construction. The police route is much narrower than most people expect.
When this matters
- A neighbour has extended a wall, a boundary pillar or a drain across your boundary.
- A relative or a stranger has occupied part of a vacant plot and started building.
- A structure has come up over a common passage, or has blocked access to your land.
- Construction over a public street, a drain or a footpath is damaging adjoining private property.
What to do first
- Measure against your own papers: take out the deed, the khatian and the record-of-rights, note the plot and dag numbers, and compare the measurements with what stands on the ground.
- Obtain a survey and demarcation: apply to the land records authority for measurement of the plot. A demarcation fixes where your boundary runs on the ground and separates the legal question from guesswork.
- Photograph with dates: take clear photographs of the encroachment, the boundary and the access, from several angles, with a date reference. Photographs of the state before the construction are the most valuable and the hardest to recreate later.
- Send a written notice: a legal notice describing the encroachment and calling for its removal puts the other side on record, fixes the date of your objection and often settles the matter without a suit.
The civil remedy
The civil remedy usually combines three reliefs in one suit:
- Injunction: a temporary injunction under Order XXXIX of the CPC to stop further construction while the suit is pending, and a permanent injunction under the Specific Relief Act 1963 to restrain it for good.
- Possession: a decree for recovery of the encroached portion where the other side has taken possession of your land, based on your title or on prior possession.
- Removal of construction: a mandatory injunction under Section 39 of the Specific Relief Act directing the demolition of a structure that has already been raised over your land, where it cannot be regularised or compensated.
These reliefs are pleaded together because they arise from the same cause of action, and a court is reluctant to split a dispute about the same boundary into separate suits. Our teams for title disputes and civil litigation prepare the plaint, the injunction application and the survey evidence as one package.
Why the police route is limited
The police are not a substitute for a civil court. A boundary dispute is a civil wrong, and the police will generally advise the parties to go before the civil court. They can act where the entry on the land amounts to criminal trespass or house-trespass under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, which replaced the corresponding provisions of the Indian Penal Code, or where the encroachment is accompanied by force, intimidation, theft of materials or damage. Even then, the police will look into the criminal aspect and leave the question of who owns the land to the civil court. Registering a police complaint does not, by itself, remove the encroachment.
Where a public street or drainage is affected
Where the encroachment is over a public street, a footpath, a drain or other municipal land, the municipal corporation or municipality has the power to remove it under the municipal law, and the district or block land records office has a role where public or vested land is involved. A written representation to the municipal authority, with photographs and the survey papers, asks the authority to act on its own. This route runs in parallel with, and does not replace, your private civil suit for the damage to your own land.
Evidence to preserve
- Title deed, khatian and record-of-rights, with the mutation and tax receipts.
- Survey and demarcation papers, measurements and any sketch map.
- Dated photographs and, where available, video of the encroachment and the access.
- The legal notice and the reply, with postal proof of service.
- Receipts for materials or property damaged, and any repair estimates.
- Witnesses who know the original boundary and the date of the construction.
The documents that go with a title deed on registration are set out in our property registration formats.
The risk of waiting
Every week that construction continues makes the remedy harder. A structure that is half built can still be removed by a mandatory injunction without serious hardship; a finished building with occupants is far harder to remove, and courts weigh the balance of convenience differently once third parties start using it. Delay also weakens the urgency on which an injunction depends, and long occupation can, in the wrong case, be argued as a foundation for a claim of adverse possession. The safe course is to object in writing and move the court early, not after the building is complete.
Common questions
Can the police remove an encroachment?
Generally no. The police deal with the criminal aspect — trespass, force, intimidation or damage — and refer the ownership question to the civil court. Removal of an encroachment on private land is done under a civil decree, not by police action.
How long does a suit for removal take?
The injunction application is heard early, so further construction can be stopped while the case runs. The suit for a permanent injunction and removal of the structure goes on longer, and its length depends on the evidence, the survey and whether the matter settles.
What if the encroachment is over a public drain?
Where a public street, footpath or drain is affected, a representation to the municipal authority can lead to removal under the municipal law. You can pursue this at the same time as your civil suit for the damage caused to your own property.
Can I demolish the encroachment myself?
No. Self-help invites counter-complaints of trespass, damage or breach of the peace and can weaken your own case. The lawful route is a suit, an injunction and a mandatory order for removal.
FileX Advocates & Legal Consultants, Kolkata, appears in these matters before the Calcutta High Court, the City Civil and Sessions courts, and the property and tribunal forums. For a free first consultation, call +91 7439811422 or WhatsApp us, or write through our contact page.