Movable and Immovable

Property
 Corporeal Property
• It is the subject matter of the right of
ownership in material things
• Salmond says "the right of ownership in a
material thing may be defined as the
general, permanent and inheritable right to
the uses of that thing"
Classification of corporeal Property
• Movable
• Immovable

Note: For the Purpose of TPA, it is this

categorisation that is relevant
 Relevance of studying this
distinction
• The transfer of immovable property
must take place with the help of a written
document that is properly executed by
the transferor and the execution should be
properly attested and registered.
• The transfer of movable property in
several cases will be complete by simple
delivery of possession, coupled with an
intention to convey the title by the owner to
the recipient
• The law of limitation specifies different
time periods within which the a civil suit
can be filed w.r.t movable and immovable
property

• Movable--3 years from cause of action

• Immovable---12 years from the date of
cause of action
 Immovable Property(Statutory
interpretation)
• Section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act

• S. 3(26)- The General Clauses Act,

1897

• S. 2(6)-- The Registration Act, 1908

 Section 3 of the Transfer of
Property Act
• “immoveable property” does not include
standing timber, growing crops or grass
S.3(26) General Clauses Act,1897
• "immovable property" shall include land,
benefits to arise out of land, and things
attached to the earth, or permanently
fastened to anything attached to the earth
 S.2(6) Registration Act,1908
• “immovable property” includes land,
buildings, hereditary allowances, rights
to ways, lights, ferries, fisheries or any
other benefit to arise out of land, and
things attached to the earth, or
permanently fastened to anything which is
attached to the earth,
• but not
• standing timber, growing crops nor grass
 Final Definition
Immovable Property includes
• Land
• Benefit arising out of land
• Things rooted in earth
• Things embedded in earth
• Things attached to what is embedded in
the earth for its permanent beneficial
enjoyment
 What does it excludes
• Standing Timber
• Growing crops
• Grass
 Nature of Timber Tree and
Standing Timber
• The moment the plant is planted till the
the time they are immature, they would be
covered under the expression 'Things
rooted in the earth' and hence would be
'Immovable Property'
• When the wood can be used as a timber
then what is to be seen is whether they
are intended to be cut within a short period
of time or not.
• If yes they would be called standing
timber, and if not they would still be
categorised as timber trees and hence
would be immovable property.
 Element of Immovable
Property(Land)
• A determinate portion of the earth's surface
• The ground beneath the surface down to the
centre of the earth
• The column of the space above the surface ad
infinitum
[Correct: A Reasonable space above the surface of
the land necessary and sufficient for the use and
beneficial enjoyment of the land and all things
attached thereto]
• All object which are on and under the
surface in its natural state.They form part
of the land e.g. minerals, natural
vegetation or stones lying loose upon the
surface
• All objects placed by human agency on or
under the surface of the land with the
intention of permanent annexation. These
become the part of the land and lose their
separate entity for e.g buildings, walls and
fences
 Benefit Arising out of Land
• It is also known as Profits a Prendre
• It is immovable Property

• When a person using his land makes a

profit, the right will be a right in immovable
property
 Example
• A person has a vacant piece of land
• Every year during the festival season he
uses the land for holding a fair and for this
purpose he charges Rs.1000 from each
stall holder
• This right to collect the charge from the
stall-holder is profits a prendre
• Therefore a right in immovable property
 Things Attached to Earth
Under S.3 of the TPA , this category is
divided into 3 categories:
1. Things Rooted in the Earth except
standing timber, growing crops and grass
2.Things that are embedded in the earth e.g
walls and buildings
3. Things attached to what is so imbedded
for the beneficial enjoyment of that to
which it is attached.
 Doctrine of fixtures
• To understand under what circumstances
a movable(Chattel) becomes a
fixture(immovable), this doctrine can be
used
 2 maxims
• quicquid(whatever) plantatur(Planted)
solo(Soil), solo credit

• quicquid inaedificatur(embedded) solo,

solo credit
 2 exceptions
• The maxims get applied only when there is
no contract to the contrary

• Trade Fixtures fixed by the tenant

 3 Test to ascertain whether a
chattel after attachement became
Fixture
• Mode of attachment
• Object or intention of attachment
• By Whom attached
 Mode of attachment and
consequences of its detachment
• If a thing or machinery because of its
sheer weight goes down into the earth; the
presumption will be it is still a moveable
property.
• If in attaching it, some external aid(nuts
and bolts) is required, it has become a part
of land
 Object or intention
• Long time period
• Short duration
 By whom attached
• Owner
• Tenant, licensee or a mortgagee
 Bamdev Panigrahi v. Manorama
Raj AIR 1974 AP 226
• A person was running a business in the
name of 'Kumar Touring Talkies'
• He obtained land under Mortgage and built
a temporary cinema structure
• For running the cinema shows that person
applied and got license that was purely
temporary for the period of one year
• For exhibiting cinema shows he purchased
a cinema projector and a diesel engine

• This equipment was embedded and

installed in earth by construction of
foundation.
• He entrusted his business to his friend B
• B got the mortgage in his name
• When A asked about accounts B denied
the same
• After the death of A, his widow filed a suit
 Issue before the court
• Even before going into the merits of the
case , court has to decide the character of
the property(Movable or Immovable)
 Observation of the Court
• The name "Kumar Touring Talkies" itself
shows that the business was temporary

• Even if 2 items were attached and

embedded in the earth the intention can
only be to have them affixed to the earth
temporarily
• The license to exhibit the shows was only
for a period of one year

• The person who fixed the items was not

the owner of the land

• The Court held these were movable

properties and suit being time barred was
dismissed
 Other Case Laws
• Holland v. Hodgson 1872
• Leigh v. Taylor 1902
• State of Orisa v. Titagarh Paper Mills Co.
Ltd AIR 1985 SC 1293
• Duncan Industries Ltd. v. State of Uttar
Pradesh (2000) SCC 633