Complaint to police for unauthorised entry into your property, illegal encroachment, or illegal occupation.
Police station where property is located.
File FIR immediately.
This coverage is provided by a practicing advocate. Specific sections cited depend on the facts you provide during drafting.
A trespassing police complaint is filed when a person has entered or remains on your property (land, home, office, farm) without your permission or legal authority, and refuses to leave despite being asked. Criminal trespass is an offence under Section 441 IPC. The complaint triggers a police investigation and provides legal grounds for the trespasser's eviction and prosecution.
File this complaint when: a neighbour, business rival, tenant who has been asked to leave, or any unauthorised person is occupying your land or property; when construction is being carried out on your land without permission; when someone refuses to vacate after being served legal notice; or when your property is being encroached upon. This is particularly common in land boundary disputes, disputed property inheritance, and illegal occupancy.
Section 441 IPC defines criminal trespass as entering or remaining in another's property with intent to commit an offence or to intimidate, insult, or annoy. Section 447 IPC penalises trespass with imprisonment up to 3 months and/or fine. Section 448 IPC (house trespass — up to 1 year); Section 452 IPC (house trespass preparing for hurt — up to 7 years). For civil remedy, a suit for injunction and declaration of title is filed in the Civil Court. Section 133 CrPC allows a Magistrate to remove public nuisance/encroachment.
Not filing a complaint allows the trespasser to consolidate possession over time (potentially leading to adverse possession claims after 12 years). File an FIR, send a legal notice demanding vacation, and simultaneously apply to the Civil Court for an injunction restraining the trespasser from further encroachment.
Criminal trespass (Section 441 IPC) requires intent to commit an offence or to intimidate/insult — police can investigate and the trespasser can be prosecuted. Civil trespass is any unauthorised entry regardless of intent — the remedy is through Civil Court (injunction, damages). In practice, both complaints are often filed simultaneously.
If the trespasser raises a title dispute, police typically decline to intervene and direct you to Civil Court. File a declaratory suit in the Civil Court along with a prayer for injunction and recovery of possession. If you have clear title documents, courts grant ex-parte interim injunctions quickly.
The owner of property has limited 'right to recapture' under Section 97 and 99 of the IPC — you can use reasonable force to remove a trespasser only if you act immediately without delay. If the trespasser has been in possession for any extended period, self-help is not advisable — use legal process to avoid criminal charges against yourself.
Adverse possession (Section 27 and Article 65 Limitation Act) gives a squatter title to property after 12 years of open, continuous, hostile, and uninterrupted possession. To prevent this, take prompt legal action against any unauthorised occupant. Regularly document your ownership visits, pay property taxes, and serve legal notices to trespassers.
Title deed or ownership documents showing your right to the property, revenue records (7/12 extract, mutation records), site plan/survey map identifying the boundaries, photographs of the trespass, any earlier legal notices sent to the trespasser, and identity proof. Having a court-approved survey map strengthens your case significantly.
If the tenancy has legally ended (expiry of agreement without renewal) and the tenant refuses to vacate, the tenant becomes an unauthorised occupant. A legal notice should be sent first. If ignored, file a trespassing complaint with police and simultaneously file an eviction petition before the Rent Controller or Civil Court.
Section 133 CrPC empowers a District Magistrate/SDM to pass a conditional order directing removal of a public nuisance or encroachment. It is useful for encroachment on public/common areas. The order is passed summarily and gives the encroacher a chance to show cause before removal.
For agricultural land, file a revenue complaint with the Tehsildar/Revenue Officer under the applicable state Revenue Code (e.g., Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, UP Revenue Code). Revenue authorities can pass orders for removal of encroachments on agricultural land and update revenue records.
Please confirm all of the following before proceeding with your Trespassing Complaint document:
Please confirm all eligibility conditions above to proceed. If you are unsure about any point, you may not be eligible for this type of notice.