Unauthorised Occupation - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition unauthorised-occupation

Definition :

Unauthorised occupation, in relation to any public premises, means the occupation by any person of the public premises without authority for such occupation, and includes the continuance in occupation by any person of the public premises after the authority (whether by way of grant or any other mode of transfer) under which he was allowed to occupy the premises has expired or has been determined for any reason whatsoever. [Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occu-pants) Act, 1971 (40 of 1971), s. 2 (g)]

The expression 'unauthorised occupation' is explain-ed in s. 437A of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act, 1949 in relation to any person authorised to occupy any municipal premises to include the continuance in occupation by him or by any person claiming through or under him of the premises after the authority under which he was allowed to occupy the premises has been duly determined, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation v. Ramanlal Govindram, AIR 1975 SC 1187: (1975) 1 SCC 778: (1975) 3 SCR 935. (Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act, 1949)

Before a person could be said to be in an unauthorised occupation, the Act required the following conditions to be satisfied:- (1) that the occupant had entered into possession before or after the commencement of the Act, (2) that he had entered into such possession otherwise than under and in pursuance of any allotment, lease or grant. That Act, therefore, lays special stress on only one point, namely, the entry into possession. Thus, if the entry into possession had taken place prior to the passing of the Act, then obviously the occupant concerned would not be an unauthorised occupant. What made the occupancy unauthorised was his entry into possession at a particular point of time. It was in construing these provisions that this Court held that if the appellants in that case were in possession before the sale of the property to the government, their entry into possession could not be said to be unauthorised. These observations, however, would have absolutely no application to the instant case where s. 2(g) defines unauthorised occupation thus: 'Unauthorised occupation', in relation to any public premises, means the occupation by any person of the public premises without authority for such occupation, and includes the continuance in occupation by any person of the public premises after the authority (whether by way of grant or any other mode of transfer) under which he was allowed to occupy the premises has expired or has been determined for any reason whatsoever, Jain Ink Manuacturing Company v. Life Insurance Corporation of India, AIR 1981 SC 670 (672): (1980) 4 SCC 435: (1981) 1 SCR 498. [Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act (40 of 1971), s. 2 (g)]

Means any occupation of the highway land, without permission under this Act for such purpose, by a person who-

(i) is trespasser on the Highway; or

(ii) for the time being is paying or is liable to pay to other person rent or any portion of the rent of the premises on a Highway; or

(iii) lives in or otherwise uses any premises on a Highway; or

(iv) is a rent-free tenant of any premises on a Highway; or

(v) is a licensee of any premises on a Highway for its possession; or

(vi) is liable to pay damages to the owner of any premises on a Highway for the use or possession of such premises. [Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002 (13 of 2003), s. 2(m)]