| Property Law

The course focuses on the study of real property and the laws pertaining to its transfer, through specific modes such as sale, mortgage, lease, exchange and gifts. As property law is an area that has growing relevance, right from colonial days to post-independent India, which has witnessed a rapid transition from an agrarian to industrial and service centered economy, its study gains added significance.

In an effort to have a holistic understanding of property law and its significance today, the course briefly forays into a theoretical introduction to the concept of property and moves on to introduce the uneven land distribution systems in India prior independence before delving into the debates surrounding the constitutional provisions that aim to balance private property and public interest.

Against this backdrop, the course moves on to the focal point of study, the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, (TP Act) its subsequent amendments and relevant judicial precedents pertaining to transfers in India. Apart from the TP Act, the course also introduces students to easements and trusts, which are ancillary to the study of property by drawing relevant provisions from the Indian Easements Act, 1882 and Indian Trusts Act, 1882.

The course also draws relevant provisions from the Registration Act, 1908 and Indian Stamp Act, 1899, which are required from a practical point of view to effect transfer of property in India. Keeping in mind the practical relevance of property transfers, the course concludes by introducing students to the effects of digitization on land titling, particularly through a study of digitization of land records in Karnataka.