INDIAN EASEMENT ACT ,1882

Dr. Shikha Dimri, Faculty SOL,UPES

 Easement is privilege of using
something that is not your own.
 S.4. “Easement” defined.-An
easement is a right which the owner
or occupier of certain land
possesses, as such, for the beneficial
enjoyment of that land, to do and
continue to do something, or to
prevent and continue to prevent
something being done, in or upon, or
in respect of, certain other land not
his own.
 Dominant and servient heritages and
owners. The land for the beneficial
enjoyment of which the right exists is
called the dominant heritage,
and the owner or occupier thereof
the dominant owner;
the land on which the liability is
imposed is called the servient
heritage,
and the owner or occupier thereof
the servient owner.
Illustrations
 (a) A, as the owner of a certain house,
has a right of way thither over his
neighbour B’s land for purposes
connected with the beneficial
enjoyment of the house. This is an
easement.
 (b) A, as the owner of a certain house,
has the right to go on his neighbour B’s
land, and to take water for the
purposes of his household out of a
spring therein.This is an easement.
 (c) A, as the owner of a certain
house, has the right to conduct
water from B’s stream to supply
the fountains in the garden
attached to the house. This is an
easement.
 (d) A, as the owner of a certain house
and farm, has the right to graze a
certain number of his own cattle on Bs
field, or to take, for the purpose of
being used in the house, by himself, his
family, guests, lodgers and servants,
water or fish out of Cs tank, or timber
out of Ds wood, or to use, for the
purpose of manuring his land, the
leaves which have fallen from the trees
on Es land.These are easements.
Essentials of right of easement
 There must be an owner or occupier
of certain land.
 The right must be possessed by the
owner or occupier of such land as
such owner or occupier.
 The right must be to do and
continue to do something, or to
prevent and continue to prevent
something being done in or upon, or
in respect of some other land.
 Right must not be for beneficial
enjoyment of his own land

 Other land in or upon which the

right is to be exercised must not be
owned or occupied by him
Easement & customary rights
 Customary right is a public right
belonging to no particular
individual but to all those who
inhabit a particular locality or
belong to a class of persons entitled
to the benefit and is not
appurtenant to any land.
 Easement is always appurtenant to a
tenement.
KINDS OF EASEMENT
 Section 5
 Continuous easement
 Discontinuous easement
 Apparent easement
 Non apparent easement
 WHO CAN IMPOSE
EASEMENT

 Express grant or imposition[s.8-11]

◦ Servient Owners
◦ Lessor and Mortgagor
 ACQUISITION OF EASEMENT

 Section 12-owner
 Implied grant or reservation[s.8]
 By necessity [s.13]
 Prescription[s15 ]
 Local custom[s.18]
 INCIDENTS OF EASEMENT
 Following are the incident of easement ie., mode of
enjoyment of easement:
 1 Bar to use unconnected with enjoyment. S.21
 2. Exercise of easement S.22
 3. Right to alter mode of enjoyment S.23
 4. Right to do acts to secure enjoyment S.24
 5. Liability for expenses necessary for prevention of
easements S.25
 6. Liability for damage from want of repair S.26
 7.Servient owner not bound to do anything S.27
 8.Extent of easement S.28
 9. Increase of easement S.29
 10. Partition of dominant heritage S.30
 11. Obstruction in case of excessive user
S.31
DISTURBANCE OF EASEMENT
 Right to enjoyment without
disturbance Section 32
 Suit for disturbance of easement
Section 33
 Injunction to restrain disturbance
Section 35
EXTINCTION OF EASEMENT
 Extinction by dissolution of rights of
serveint owner S.37
 Extinction by release S.38
 Extinction by revocation S.39
 Extinction or expiration of limited
period or happening of dissolving
condition S.40
 Extinction on termination of
necessity S.41
 Extinction of useless easement S.42
 Extinction by permanent change in
dominant heritage S.43
 Extinction by non enjoyment S.47
 LICENCE
 Section 52- Where one person grants to
another, or to a definite number of other
persons, a right to do, or continue to do,
in or upon the immovable property of the
grantor, something which would, in the
absence of such right, be unlawful, and
such right does not amount to an
easement or an interest in the property,
the right is called a licence.
 Licence in popular sense means three
things:
 Permission to do something
 Certificate or document which embodies
permission in question
 Licence fee which is price paid for
previlege conferred
 Essentials of Licence
 Two different persons
 There must be a grant
 Licence is always positive
 Licence is granted to do something
in or upon the immovable property
of grantor
 Licence is not connected with
ownership of any land, but creates
only a personal right or obligation
 Associated Hotels of India v R.N.Kapoor,
it was stated:

 “under the aforesaid section, if a document gives

only a right to use the property in a particular way
or certain terms while it remains in possession and
control of the owner thereof, it will be licence. Legal
possession therefore continues with the owner of
property, but licence is permitted to make use of
premises for a particular purpose.
 Errington v Errington

 1. Substance of document must be seen

 2. what is intention of parties?
 3 if document creates interest in property then
it will be lease but if it permits to use but no
other right then it be licence.
 If under document party gets exclusive
possession of the property prima facie he is
considered be a tenant but the circumstances
may be established which negative the intention
to create a lease
 Quality cut pieces v Laxmi & Co. AIR
1986 Bom 359
 S.60. Licence when revocable

 A licence may be revoked by the

grantor, unless-
 (a) it is coupled with a transfer of
property and such transfer is in
force;
 (b) the licensee, acting upon the
licence, has executed a work of a
permanent character and incurred
expenses in the execution.
 LEASE LICENCE
 Creation of Interest  No passing of
in property interest in property
 Lease gives the  Licence confers no
tenant a right to such right on the
exclusive possession licensee
 Lease is transferable  Licence is non
 Lease is revocable transferable
 Licence is not
revocable
 LICENCE EASEMENT

 RIGHT IN PERSONAM  RIGHT ATTACHED

 IT IS TO DO WITH THE PROPERTY
SOMETHING ONLY  TO DO OR TO
 NON TRANSFERABLE PREVENT
 REVOCABLE AT THE SOMETHING
WILL OF  TRANSFERABLE
GRANTOR[EXCEPT  NOT REVOCABLE AT
S.60] THE WILL OF
 CONTINUOUS USE GRANTOR
NOT NECESSARY  CONTINUOUS USE
NECESSARY