Special land-grabbing fora can examine adverse possession when determining title, lawful possession, and land-grabbing claims.

The Special Tribunal and Special Court under the Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982 were held competent to examine a plea of adverse possession when deciding whether possession is lawful or amounts to land grabbing. The Act was treated as a self-contained code conferring wide civil and criminal jurisdiction, and its scheme on cognizance, procedure, burden of proof, legal fiction and non-obstante effect was read to permit determination of title, ownership and lawful possession. The earlier view excluding adverse possession was rejected, and the broader view recognising such jurisdiction was affirmed.

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Issues: Whether the Special Tribunal and the Special Court constituted under the Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982 have jurisdiction to decide a plea of adverse possession raised in proceedings concerning alleged land grabbing.

Analysis: The Act was treated as a special, self-contained code conferring wide civil and criminal jurisdiction on the Special Tribunal and Special Court. The statutory scheme allows those fora to determine questions of title, ownership and lawful possession, subject to jurisdictional facts being made out. The provisions governing cognizance, procedure, burden of proof, legal fiction, and non-obstante effect were read together to show that the forum is competent to examine rival claims, including whether possession has become lawful by prescription. The earlier view excluding adverse possession was not accepted, while the broader view that such a plea can be examined within the Act was affirmed as consistent with the statutory scheme.

Conclusion: The Special Tribunal and the Special Court have jurisdiction to go into the question of adverse possession under the Act.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered by holding that a plea of adverse possession is within the jurisdiction of the special fora under the Act, and the contrary view was disapproved.

Ratio Decidendi: A special tribunal or special court created by a land-grabbing statute, if vested with civil-court-like powers to decide title and possession, may determine a plea of adverse possession when that plea is directly relevant to whether the possession is lawful or amounts to land grabbing.

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