Does the burden of establishing a valid dedication of property to a religious institution lie on the party asserting it?
Coram: Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra · Justice Shree Chandrashekhar
The burden of establishing a valid dedication of property to a religious institution lies on the party asserting it.
Yes. A valid dedication does not always require a formal deed, but the burden of establishing such dedication — a clear and unequivocal intention to permanently divest ownership — squarely rests upon the party asserting it, and mere long possession or a revenue entry indicating cultivation for religious purposes cannot, without more, be treated as conclusive proof of dedication.
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — s.100 — Second appeal — Property — Revenue records — Title — Dedication — Adverse possession — Evidence — Revenue records — Proof of possession, not title — Held: Revenue entries such as Jamabandis and Khasra Girdawaris are relevant evidence of possession but do not, by themselves, create or extinguish title, which must be established through substantive evidence of its source. (¶23) Property — Dedication to a religious institution — Burden of proof — Held further: The burden of establishing a valid dedication of property to a religious institution lies on the party asserting it, which must show a clear and unequivocal intention to permanently divest ownership. (¶25) Limitation Act, 1963 — Adverse possession — Hostile animus required — Held further: Adverse possession requires actual, open, continuous and hostile possession denying the true owner's title, not mere long possession from a lawful or permissive origin. (¶28, 31) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — s.100 — Concurrent findings — Misapplication of law — Held further: Concurrent findings of fact are not immune from interference in second appeal where vitiated by a misapplication of law or an erroneous understanding of settled legal principles; appeal dismissed, the finding of adverse possession set aside. (¶40, 43, 44)
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