OWNERSHIP:

The term “ownership” literally means ‘to have or hold a thing'. It is actually the
relationship that a person has with an object he owns. The concept of ownership
flows from possession and both are interconnected. The concept of ownership
developed when the nomads started practicing farming. Property as a legal concept
has been defined by the Supreme Court of India in Guru Datt Sharma vs State of
Bihar case as ‘sum of bundle of rights and in case of tangible property would
include the right of possession, right to enjoy, to destroy, to retain, to alienate and
so on’.
Austin defined ownership as “a right indefinite in point of user, unrestricted in
point of disposition and unlimited in point of duration”. His definition thus implies
three attributes viz.:
(i) Indefinite user – the owner of a thing is free to use or misuse the thing in
a way he likes.
(ii) Unrestricted disposition – the power of disposition of the owner is
unhampered by law
(iii) Unlimited duration – ownership of a person cannot be cut short
Hibbert’s definition of ownership includes 4 kinds of rights within itself:
 Right to use a thing
 Right to exclude others from using the thing
 Disposing of a thing
 Right to destroy

ESSENTIALS OF OWNERSHIP:
Indefinite point of user: The user is at liberty to use the property or a thing and he
does not have any obligation to use it (it’s upto his/her choice whether to use it or
not).
Unrestricted point of disposition: The owner may use or dispose of property by
convenience, either during his lifetime or either by will. Maxim: Nemo dat quad
non habet – no one can transfer a better title than he himself possesses.
Right to posses: The owner has right to posses the thing even if he actually
possesses it or not is immaterial. Only the right to posses is material in nature.
Right to exhaust: If the nature of a thing which is owned is of such nature that it
can be exhausted then the owner has a right to exhaust it at his own will.
Residuary Character: Even if some rights to certain property may be given to
someone else on lease or rent, still the owner remains the owner because if
residuary character to it.
Right to destroy or alienate: The owner has right to destroy or alienate thing that
he owns.

SUBJECT MATTER OF OWNERSHIP:

One of the subject matter of ownership is material objects. Salmond is of the view
that the real subject matter of ownership is rights. This view of Salmond is
supported by common law system but it also received some amount of criticism. It
has been argued that law generally recognises ownership of land and chattels and
not of any right itself. A person is said to have certain rights not own rights. The
subject matter of ownership is generally determined by the legal system of a state.
There are certain objects which are incapable of being owned such as jungle, air,
water etc.
We have following rights over the subject which can be owned:
 Right to possess: The owner of a thing has a right to possess it, to the
exclusion of all others i.e., the owner has exclusive control of a thing.
 Right to use: The owner has right to use the subject-matter of ownership as
per his own discretion.
 Right to manage: The owner has the right to manage i.e., he has the right
to decide how and by whom the thing shall be used.
  Right to the capital/alienation: The owner has exclusive right of alienating
with the thing. A non-owner may possess a thing but he can not transfer its
ownership.
 Right to income: The owner of a thing has the right to the income arising
out of the thing within the limits, if any, laid down by any law.

MODES OF ACQUIRING OWNERSHIP:

Under modern law, modes of acquiring ownership may be classified
under two heads:
(i) original mode; and
(ii) derivative mode.
Original mode: The said mode is the result of some independent
personal act of the acquirer himself. It is of following kinds:
(i) Absolute mode: In this mode, ownership is acquired over previously
ownerless object.
(ii) Extinctive mode: In this mode, there is extinction of previous
ownership by an independent adverse act on part of the acquirer.
 (iii) Accessory mode: In this mode, requisition of ownership is the
result of accession.

Derivative mode: When ownership is derived from a previous owner, it is

called derivative acquisition of ownership. It is derived by any of the
following modes: 
(i) Title of prior owner: In agreement, a title is acquired with the consent
of the previous owner. It is only limited to contracts but includes all
bilateral acts which create an interest. Such agreement may be either
by assignment or by grant.
(ii) Purchase: A contract for sale does not confer title in immoveable
property. As per Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act3, a contract
for sale of immoveable property is a contract that such sale shall take
place on terms settled between the parties.
(iii)Gift: ( should be voluntarily and without consideration, sec 153 TPA).
(iv) Will: In this regard, as decided by Delhi High Court in Lakshmi
Devi v. State of Delhi4; Rajinder Singh Chowdhary v. S. Manjit Singh
Chowdhary5, husband of a testatrix cannot claim absolute ownership
over the property after the death of his wife, and would have no
authority to bequeath the same by way of will.

Kinds of Ownership
Ownership may be of the following kinds:
1. Corporeal and Incorporeal Ownership
Corporeal ownership refers to the ownership of material objects whereas
incorporeal ownership refers to the ownership of a right. Incorporeal ownership
can also be said to be the ownership of intangible things. Examples of corporeal
ownership include ownership of a house, table, car, etc. whereas those of
incorporeal ownership includes ownership of trademarks, copyright, patents, etc.
2. Trust and Beneficial Ownership
The subject-matter of such ownership consists of property owned by two persons
wherein one person is obligated to use it to the benefit of the other. The person
under such an obligation is called the trustee and his ownership is known as trust
ownership. The person to whose benefit the property is to be used is called the
beneficiary and his ownership is known as beneficial ownership. Trust ownership
is only a matter of form and not a matter of substance. This means that a trustee’s
ownership of the property is only nominal in nature. He is given someone else’s
property fictitiously by law and thereby obligating him to use it to the real owner’s
benefit.
3. Legal and Equitable Ownership
Legal ownership refers to the ownership as recognized by the rules of a legal
system whereas equitable ownership refers to the ownership as recognized by the
rules of equity. There may be cases wherein law does not recognize the ownership
due to some effect but equity does. In such situations, the ownership is said to be
equitable ownership. Legal ownership is a right in rem whereas equitable
ownership is a right -in personam since equity acts are in personam. A person may
be the legal owner of a thing and another may be the equitable owner of the same
thing at the same time.
4. Vested and Contingent Ownership
All kinds of ownership may either be vested or contingent. Ownership is vested
ownership when the title of the person is perfect. On the other hand, ownership can
be said to be contingent if it is imperfect and can be perfected subject to the
fulfilment of certain conditions. Thus, contingent ownership is conditional in
nature.
5. Sole Ownership and Co-ownership
Under ordinary circumstances, a right can be owned by only one person at a time.
Such ownership is known as sole ownership. However, in certain cases, same right
may be vested in two individuals at the same time. This is known as co-ownership.
For instance, partners of a firm are co-owners of the partnership property.