Define the term Possession

Possession in Jurisprudence; Introduction:-

Possession is very difficult to define in English
Jurisprudence. But it is a very important topic. Human life and
society would become impossible without the retention and
consumption of material and non-material things. Food, clothes,
tools, etc. are essential items to use. We get hold over the first to
claim possession. It is not just the acquisition of things but it is a
continuing claim for the use of the item. It may be legal or illegal.
It is a prima facie evidence of ownership and anyone desiring
to disturb a possessor must show a better title or a better
possessory right.
Meaning of possession in Jurisprudence:-
In Roman law possession was
termed as a ‘Possessio’. The term possessio denoted physical
control over things. In legal terminology, there is no word more
ambiguous in its meaning than possession whether considered in
relation to immovable property. In law, possession means a fact
or condition of a person having such control of property that he
may legally enjoy it to exclusion of others except against the true
owner or prior possessor.
It has been claimed by eminent jurists that the
conception of possession is very difficult to define and important
in the range of legal theory.
Possession originally expresses the simple notion of a
physical capacity to deal with the thing by as we like to the
exclusion of everybody else.
Possession, to begin with, meant only physical control
over the thing. It was only later that this fact started receiving
recognition and protection by the laws from various aspects.
Possession is of two types according to Salmond:-
1. When the possession included a physical or actual relation with
the object is called possession in fact, And
2. When it got recognition by law it was termed as a possession in
law,
For example, in English law, a servant is not deemed to be
in possession of Master’s goods while things are in his (Master’s)
control. Thus, a servant under English law has possession in fact.
Possession in law is the legal relation. It implies a manifest
intention to exclude the world at large from interfering with the
thing in question and to do so on one’s own account and in one’s
own name.
Definitions:-
 Savigny definition:-
Savigny defines possession as, “Intention coupled with the
physical power to exclude other from the use of material objects”.
His definition involves two essential elements:-
A. The animus domini, i.e., the intention to hold the goods; and
B. The corpus possessionis, i.e., the physical control of such
goods.
Thus, according to Savigny, the permanent loss of one
element or the other brought possession to an end. Savigny
further observed that the essence of possession is to be found in
the physical power of exclusion. He says that the corpus
possession may be of two kinds, one related to the
commencement of possession and the other relates to the
retention of the possession.
Criticism:-
Savigny has used the expression of physical
power to exclude others without adding any qualification to it. He
did not mention the fact that the exclusion is subject to one
exception, i.e., that possessor cannot exclude a person who has a
better title over the use of that particular material object.
Ihering:-
Ihering, says — whenever a person looks like
an owner in relation to a thing he has possession unless
possession is denied to him by the rule of law based on
convenience.
Salmond:-
Salmond divides possession into incorporeal
and corporeal and defines corporeal possession as ‘the continuing
exercise of a claim to the exclusion of others. Again, he says —
Possession is a de facto relation between a person and a thing. It
is not right. Thus, for Salmond corporeal possession is a title of
right but it is not a right itself.
Criticism:-
Markby has criticised Salmond’s definition and
said that the Law treats possession not merely as a physical
condition but also as a right. He adds that the possession confers
on the possessor all the rights of the owner except as against the
owner and prior processor.
Elements of Possession in Jurisprudence:-
There are two elements of possession:-
1. Physical control or power over the object possessed; and
2. The intention or will to exercise that power.
Corpus or physical control:-
1. The possessor’s physical relation to the rest of the object;
2. The relation of the possessor to the rest of the world.
Corpus means that the existence of such physical
contact of a person with thing as to give rise to a reasonable
assumption that the others will not interfere with it. There may be
actual physical contact, (a coin in my hand or in my purse in the
pocket) or there may be cases when there is no physical contact
e.g. when a person takes out the purse and drops by mistake coin
in the gutter; he walks ahead without noticing the loss– here the
corpus remains with him until someone else picked it up.
The second element of the corpus is that the possessor
must have the ability to exclude others. There is no hard and fast
rule regarding the amount of power to exclude others.
Animus or intention:-
Animus means an intention to
hold possession again all others except the true owner. That is to
say, the animus is the conscious of intention of an individual to
exclude others from the control of an object. The mental element
in the possession may conceivably be manifested in the following
ways:-
First, the person holding the property need not be the owner and
may exercise animus to exclude others on behalf of the owners.
Secondly, animus to exclude others need not be in the interest of
the processor or on his own behalf.
Thirdly, animus to exclude others need not be specific.
Fourthly, the animus to exclude others need not be based on a
legally enforceable claim. It may be the result of a wrongful act.
Fifthly, the animus to exclude others need not be absolute. A
person possesses a piece of land notwithstanding the fact that
some other person or even the public at large possesses a right of
way over it.
Sixthly, the animus to exclude others must be wide enough to
include the actual thing considered.

distinguish between Possession and Ownership

Sr
.
N
o. Ownership Possession

Ownership is
an absolute authority over Possession is physical control
1. the property. over the property.
 It holds unlimited and
uncontrolled rights over the
2. property. It is a limited concept of right.

It is a union of ownership It is a single concept giving no

3. and possession right of ownership.

4. It is a de jure concept. It is a de facto concept.

Ownership right is a wider Possession is a right of

5. concept. consumption only.

It is a perfectly legal right. It is a possessory right only. It

6. It shows legal situation. shows real position.

Transfer of ownership is not

an easy process, but it Possession is a comparatively easy
needs legal or formal process and practically no need to
procedures, prerequisites of register and such formalities like
7. registration. ownership.

It has no technical It faces the technical obstacles for

8. obstructions to transfer. transfer.

Ownership cannot be
carried out practical use in Possession may be a ground for
9. the absence of possession. the ownership as well.

It consists the bundle of

10 rights and all the rights are It is prima facie a proof or
. right in rem. evidence of ownership.

11
. It is a guarantee by the law. It is a physical control over it.

What do you understand by the term 'ownership'?

Introduction
The word ownership strikes the imagination with the picture of
property, property without which there can be no ownership or
possession. During the earliest of times when humans were nomads
and did not posses the skill of cultivation and civilization the concept
of ownership never crossed through the minds. However, the
 concept of possession was formulated before the concept of
ownership and that too only when humans started to cultivate.
Property as a legal concept has been defined by the Supreme Court
of India in Guru Dutt Sharma v/s State of Bihar, as ‘a sum of a
bundle of rights and in case of tangible property would include the
right to possession, the right to enjoy, the right to destroy, the right
to retain, the right to alienate and so on.’ And along the clear
concept of property comes the ideas of possession and ownership.
Concept of Ownership
With the growth of civilization, humans settling down to cultivate
and produce their own food and staying at one place they began to
develop the idea of ownership and recognized the terms ‘mine and
thine’[1]. First came the concept of possession then the concept of
ownership evolved. The Roman Law had two distinct
terms ‘possessio’, which denotes physical control over a thing and
‘dominium’ which denotes the absolute right to a thing. Ownership
as an absolute right in English Law evolved through the
developments in the law of possession, according to Holdsworth and
the term ‘ownership’ was first used in English Law in 1583.
Definition
Ownership has been defined by many jurists, some opine it is the
relation between a person and a right vested in him and some opine
that it is the relation between a person and the thing that is the
object of the ownership.
Austin
According to him, ‘Ownership means a right which avails against
everyone who is subject to the law conferring the right to put thing
to user of indefinite nature’. And ‘a right indefinite in point of user,
unrestricted in point of disposition and unlimited in point of duration’
when it comes to full ownership.
Austin’s definition of ownership has three characteristics: –
1. Indefinite in point of user- it means that the owner may use the
property howsoever he may desire so. For example, if a person owns
a piece of land, he may build a house on it, use it as a garden or
may simply leave it as it is. But at the same time, he must not use it
to injure his neighbors.
2. Unrestricted in point of disposition- the owner has a right of transfer
or disposition without any restriction. However legal systems impose
certain restrictions on some transfer or disposition.
3. Unlimited in point of duration – the owner has the right of ownership
till the object is in existence and as soon as the thing is destructed
the right is extinguished.
Salmond
According to him, ‘Ownership, in its most comprehensive
significance, denotes the relation between a person and the right
 that is vested in him. That which a man owns is in all cases a right.’
Also he states that ‘Every right is owned, and nothing can be owned
except a right. Every man is the owner of the rights which are his.’
He also distinguished between corporeal and incorporeal ownership,
‘Although the subject-matter of ownership in its widest sense is in all
cases a right, there is a narrow sense of the term in which we speak
of the ownership of material things. We speak of owning, acquiring
or transferring, not rights in land or chattels, but the commonest
meaning of the ‘ownership’. We call it by the name of corporeal
ownership to distinguish it from the ownership of rights which may
be called ‘incorporeal ownership’.
Holland
He followed Austin’s view of ownership and according to him an
owner has three kinds of powers namely; possession, enjoyment and
ownership all or some of which can be lost by lease or mortgage.
Hilbert
According to him, ownership consists of four rights which are the
right of using the thing, right of excluding others from using it, right
to disposal of the thing and right of destruction of the thing. In this
regard absolute ownership in land is not possible since land is
indestructible, which is why in English Law one can have a legal
interest in land.
Pollock
According to him, ’Ownership may be described as the entirety of
the powers of use and disposal allowed by law.’
Nature and Incidents of Ownership
On analyzing the concept of ownership one can find certain
attributes which reveal the nature or characteristics of ownership
such as usage, enjoyment, disposition etc. Nature of ownership is as
follows: –
1. It is indefinite in point of user i.e., the user may use the thing owned
in any way he so desires and is in no obligation to not to use it. The
user is at liberty to use it.
2. It is unrestricted at point of disposition. The owner may transfer or
dispose of the property by conveyance either during his lifetime or
even after his demise by way of will.
3. The owner has the right to possess the thing owned although if he
actually possesses it or not is immaterial, only the right o possess is
of material in nature.
4. The owner has the right to exhaust the thing owned while using it if
the nature of the thing is so.
5. It is residuary in nature. Even if some rights to a certain property
may be given to someone else in way of lease or rent, still the owner
remains to be the owner due to the residuary characteristics to it.
6. The owner has the right to alienate the property as well as the right
to destroy it.
Incidents of ownership
1. Right to possess – ownership entails the right to possess the thing
owned even if there is no actual possession of it, only the right is of
the essence.
2. Right to use – ownership implies that the owner can use or enjoy the
thing owned in any manner he thinks fit without injuring others and
within the limits of the law.
3. Right to manage – ownership contains within it the right to manage
the property. It means that only the owner can decide what to do
with it, how to do and by whom it is to be done, to transfer or to
alienate or to destroy.
4. Right to income – ownership also entails the income generated out
of it is owned by the owner. All benefits attached to the thing owned
is the right of owner.
Modes of Acquisition of Ownership
There are two modes of acquisition of ownership and they are
original and derivative. Original mode when things which had not
been owned before and can be acquired by possession. The things
owned before ownership over that thing is by derivative mode.
Original mode is of three types absolute, extinctive and accession.
Absolute in case where it previously belonged to no one. It can be
acquired by either specification or occupation. In occupation an
ownerless thing is owned and in this the physical control is essential.
For example, birds, fish etc. In specification the material belonging
to other when the shape given by another. For example, clay
collected from someone’s land is made into a sculpture by another.
Extinctive when the ownership of previous person is done with by
reason of adverse possession by the acquirer. Accessary when
acquired as an accession.
Kinds of Ownership
Corporeal and Incorporeal Ownership –
Corporeal ownership is the ownership of material object. It is the
ownership of tangible things which can be perceived by the senses.
For example, ownership of house, factory, machines, etc.
Incorporeal ownership is the ownership of a right. It is the ownership
of intangible things which cannot be perceived by the senses. It also
includes intellectual property and encumbrances. For example,
ownership of shares, trademark, copyright, etc.
Trust and Beneficial Ownership –
Both ownerships are found in a trust involving a trust property. In
the trust one is made a trustee and given property to hold and use
such property for the benefits of the beneficiary.
The ownership of the trustee is trust ownership. This is a nominal
ownership and is not real as it is only for the benefit of the
beneficiary. In the eyes of law, the trustee is the representative of
the beneficiary and has no right of enjoyment of the trust property.
This ownership is only a matter of form and not of substance as the
property is given fictitiously by the law and is only deemed to be the
owner of the property due to the fiction of the law.
The ownership of the beneficiary is the beneficial ownership.
Although in the eyes of law trustee is the owner but between the
trustee and beneficiary the latter is the owner of the trust property.
For example, a property is given to A on trust for B then A is trustee
and B is beneficiary. A has trust ownership, the legal owner in the
eyes of law who is obligated to use the trust property for the benefit
of B who has beneficial ownership.
Legal and Equitable Ownership –
Legal ownership has its origin in the rules of common law. This is
a right in rem as it can be enforced against the whole world.
Equitable ownership has its origin in the laws of equity. This
ownership is a right in personam as it can be enforced against a
particular person. This ownership is recognized even when there is a
legal defect.
For example, A sells his shares to B but a transfer deed is not made.
The company refuses to acknowledge B as the owner and law gives
no relief. Rule of equity helps here as A is the legal owner but he
holds the shares as a trustee of B. B here is the equitable owner.
Vested and Contingent Ownership –
Vested ownership means where the title of the owner is already
perfect. In this the ownership is absolute. For example, in a gift deed
a donee (to whom the gift is gifted) cannot take possession of the
gift property but he has vested interest till the death of the donor
and his wife. The donee can although transfer the said property after
the death of the donor.
Contingent ownership implies that the ownership is not absolute but
conditional. The ownership is imperfect and becomes absolute and
perfect only on fulfillment of some condition. For example, A leaves
his property to B and on B’s death to C. The ownership of C is
contingent ownership as he will get the property only after the death
of B.
Sole Ownership and Co-ownership –
Sole ownership is when only one person has the whole and sole right
in a property and no one else can claim any right whatsoever over
the property in question.
Co-ownership is when more than one person has a right that is the
undivided and vested in all of them at the same time. The parties do
not separately own a part but co-owners of the same property.
Co-ownership and Joint Ownership –
Co-ownership the property in question is commonly owned by both
the parties and on demise of one party the heirs of that party would
inherit part of it. For example, A and B are in a co-ownership. On
death of A, A’s heirs will get half of the property.
Joint ownership is when a property is jointly owned by parties and on
the death of one party the ownership dies with him and cannot be
inherited. For example, A and B are joint owners of a property. On
death of A, B becomes the sole owner of the said property.
Absolute and Limited Ownership –
Absolute ownership means that except the owner in whom all the
rights are vested there are no other person who can claim any right
over that property. But there may be legal or contractual restrictions
upon the usage of the said property.
Limited ownership means in the ownership there are limitations on
the rights of usage, duration or disposal of the property. For
example, before 1956 a Hindu woman had only limited ownership
over a property and after her demise the property would be
inherited by the heirs of the last holder.
Role of Ownership in Modern Times
Ownership as a concept has evolved since long and has developed
as a sign of power, wealth and social standing. Individual ownership
is a more recent idea and ownership within the community was a
concept during the initial stages of society formation. In his book
Physics and Politics, Mr. Bagehot had brought out that in order to
bind the society in its forming stages ‘everything which tended to
individualism would naturally be discouraged by the tribal feeling of
self-preservation.’[2]
Ownership was only for the monarchs and in some instances for the
church, apart from them no one had any right over any property.
Concept of private property came into existence only after feudalism
was done with and dissolved and the military heads had absolute
power over his domain which gave way to modern private
ownership. Feudal lords held land and other properties and labours
were the ones who although worked on the said land but had no
rights in it whatsoever.
Later with the advent of machines and the industrial revolution
came in the rights of the labours and they now had equal rights to
negotiate with the owners of the property. In this era the owner was
not the only one with power, wealth or social standing. New
legislations in industries and labour sector forced the industrialists to
share their profits with not only the labour force but also to be paid
as taxes and in more recent time as corporate social responsibility.
In the current times ownership is neither absolutely with the
government nor the power the ownership provides is with the
industries. The labour and industrial laws enacted has impacted the
social and economic conditions of the nation as a whole. Ownership
now distributes power, wealth and status among all.
Conclusion
Ownership in its nature is residual and can be said to have a bundle
of rights attached to it, but at the same time it also denotes the
relation between a person and the thing to be owned. That
throughout the years the concept of ownership and possession has
evolved and has been embedded in the minds of human that may or
may not be in a legal sense. It has impacted society and even
society has impacted its definition, meaning, scope and
understanding. Ownership may mean different things to different
people but what does not change is the fact that along with the
rights attached comes liability, obligations, duties toward others and
society in general.

Explain the various kinds of Possession.

Kind of Possessions
Possession means physical control over an object or thing. Though in
law it is difficult to define the concept of possession because there is
no precise definition of possession. It is factual as well as a legal
concept. But, we can say that it is the physical custody, control or
occupancy of any object with a definite intention of ownership. Let
us now discuss the types of possession in detail.

Kind of Possessions
Following are the important types of possession:

1. Corporeal possession.
2. Incorporeal Possession.
3. Mediate possession.
4. Immediate possession.
5. Constructive possession.
6. Adverse possession.
7. De facto possession.
8. De jure possession.

1. Corporeal Possession
Objects which have physical or materialistic manifestation, and
which our senses can perceive are corporeal possession. Thus, it is
the persistent exercise of a claim on the use of material or tangible
objects. For Example House, car, cycle, pen, etc.

2. Incorporeal Possession

Objects which don’t have any physical or materialistic manifestation,

and which our senses cannot perceive are incorporeal objects. Thus,
it is the persistent exercise of a claim on the use of immaterial or
intangible objects. For example Trademark, goodwill, patent,
copyright, etc.

3. Mediate Possession

Mediate possession of an object is the possession of a thing through a

mediator (middleman) like an agent, friend or servant. It is also called
indirect possession. For example: If a landlord let his house to a
tenant. The tenant is bound to hand over the house to the landlord
whenever he decides. So the landlord has the mediate possession of
the house through the tenant.

4. Immediate Possession

When the possessor himself possesses the property or thing, we call it

immediate possession or direct possession. For example: when I buy
a pen from a shop and keep it for myself. The pen is in the
immediate possession of mine.

5. Constructive Possession
Constructive Possession is the authority over an object without
having actual possession or charge of that material. In other words,
we can say that constructive possession is not actually a possession
but it is a possession in law and not possession in fact. For example
The delivery of my key by my car driver. Here my driver was the
constructive possessor of my car until he delivers me the key.

6. Adverse Possession
Adverse possession means the possession of some property or object,
without legal title, for a certain time period, sufficient to become
acknowledged legal owner. Sometimes, we also define it informally
as “squatter’s rights”. In actual adverse possession of some property,
the possessor is required to prove an intention to keep it absolutely
for oneself. Just claiming the property or paying liabilities for it,
without actually possessing it, is not sufficient.

For example Continuous use of private land or driveway or

agricultural field of an unused piece of land.

7. De facto Possession

It is a Latin word meaning ‘in fact’. De facto possession means the

possession which exists in reality even if it is not legally recognized.

For example, A common law spouse can be considered as a de facto

wife or de facto husband though they are not lawfully married, yet
they live like a married couple.

8. De Jure Possession

De jure is a Latin word meaning “in law”; lawful, legitimate or a

matter of law. De jure possessions are legally recognized
possessions regardless of whether it exists in reality or not. It is also
known as juridical possession meaning possession in the eyes of law.
For example, An owner of the house could cease a man to live in a
house but without intending and to abandon it for good. It is a case of
De jure possession.

State the element of Possession. Possession consists of 'corpus possessions'

and 'animus possidendi' - Discuss.

ELEMENTS OF POSSESSION
According to Holland legal position has two essential element namely:-
 Corpus
 Animus

1) Corpus Possessionis
In corpus Possessionis there must exist some physical contact of a person with a
thing which he possesses so as to give rise to a reasonable assumption that other
will not interfere with it. The physical control of the possessor of things implies
that others will not interfere with the possessor’s right to use enjoyment of that
think. That assurance of non interference can be secured in any of the following
ways:-

1) The physical power of the possessor over the thing in his possession act as a
guarantee of user of that thing. It is also an assurance against the non-interference
of other in the right of his possession. The person in possession generally use
walls, gates, doors locks etc. to exclude other from interfering with his legal
possession.

2 In many situations a physical presence of the possessor is enough to retain

possession although he may not have necessary physical strength to resist
interference.
For example, a coin in a child hand is sufficient to denote his possession over the
coin although he does not have the physical strength to retain the coin.

3) If a person keep a thing which is in his possession in a hidden place it is an

effective mode of excluding external interference and keeping that thing secured.

4) In modern society wrongful possession is not deemed with favour, therefore

respect for the rightful claim prevents others from interfering with the legal
possession of the possessor.

5) At time possession of an object tends to confirm possession of certain other

thing which are connected with it on accessory to it. Thus possession of land
confirm possession of things that are on or under it. But the position in this regard
is however not very clear as seen in the case of (“South Staffordshire Water Works
Corporation V/s. Chairman (1896) 2 QB 44”)

6) Another measure of security of possession in the manifestation of the animus

Domini. The visibility of the claim is another element in the factual security of its
enjoyment. Thus using a thing openly carries with a prima facie rightmindedness
of its possession
One notable feature of Corpus is that possession is not lost by mere temporary
absence of the position from the object. “Corporal conduct is not the physical
element which is involved in the conception of possession. It is rather the
possibility of dealing with the thing as we like and of excluding others. If we
consider the various mode in which the possession is gained or lost, we shall
recognise this very clearly”.
2) Animus Possidendi:
Mere juxtaposition is not a possession. It must indicate some possibility of physical
control accompanied by a ‘will’ to exercise such control. This mental element in
possession constitutes animus. The classic roman jurist recognised two degree of
control over an object possessed, the lower degree of which is described as detentio
while the higher one was called possessio, properly so called. Mere detentio exists
when the intention to dispose of the object in possession is limited by the
recognition of the outstanding right of another.
1) The animus or desire to possess need not necessarily be rightful, it maybe even
be consciously wrongful. A thief has a possession of stole thing no less real than
the true owner of those things.
2) The possessor must have exclusive claim over the thing in his possession. That
is, he must intend to exclude other from use and enjoyment of that think the
exclusion however need not be accepted for example a person shall still be deemed
to be in legal position of land notwithstanding the fact that some other person on
public at large may possess a right of a way over other that land.

3) The animals need not amount to a claim or an intention to use the thing as
owner. Thus in case of pledge, the pledgee has the possession of the thing pledged
although he only intends to retain it in custody as a security to ensure repayment of
his debt.

4) The animals need not be necessarily that of the possessor himself e.g., a servant,
agent, trustee or a bailee does not keep thing in possession for his own use but hold
them from some other person.

5) The animus may not be specific, instead, it may be merely general. For instance,
a person who has caught fishes in his net has possession over all of them although
he does not know their exact number. Likewise, a person is deemed to be in
possession of all the book in his library although he may not even know about the
existence of some of them.

It must be stated that when a person has possession of receptacle, such as a box,
cabinet or envelope, he has also the possession of the contents thereof.
The case of (“N.N. Majumdar V/s. State AIR 1951 Calcutta 140 “) may be cited in
which the question of animus came up for determination before the high court of
Calcutta. In this case, the police made a search of the accused house in the hope
that the pistol would be recovered from there but no such recovery could be made.
In the meantime the accused had a quick word with his wife who went out and
returned within three or four minutes with a pistol and some cartridges. The police
took plea that as per Section 27 of Evidence Act, it should be presumed that the
pistol was recovered from the possession of the accused. The court however
rejected the contention of the prosecution and held that the Arms Act being a
special enactment, the fact of animus must be specifically proved and mere
existence of Corpus without animus is ineffective to constitute possession.

How is possession acquired?

Modes of Acquisition of Possession

There are three modes of acquiring possession as follows:
(a) By Taking-
it is the acquisition of possession without the consent of the previous owner and it may either be
rightful or wrongful.

For example, as Keeton says, where an inn-keeper seizes the goods of his guest, who has failed
to pay his bill, there is acquisition of possession by rightful taking. But where a thief steals
something, he acquires possession wrongful taking. But it is not necessary for acquisition of
possession by taking that the thing must be already in the possession of some other person. For
example, res nullis, that is, a thing belonging to no one, like, a wild animal or bird, etc. and
acquiring possession of a res nullis is also by way of taking.

(b) By Delivery-
it is the acquisition of possession with the consent of the previous owner and is of two types,
actual and constructive.

Actual delivery is the physical or actual transfer of a thing from the hands of one person to
another. It is of two kinds, one in which the owner still has a mediate possession like when A
lends his book to B, and the other in which the owner does not retain even the mediate
possession like when A sells the book to B.

Further constructive delivery is one in which there is no direct or actual transfer of the possession
of the thing. it is of three kinds:

1. Traditio Brevi Manu- it is the giving up of possession to someone who already has the
immediate possession of the thing. For example, a person sells a book to the hirer
thereof who is already in immediate possession of the book. So, in other words, it is only
the animus that is transferred as the transferee already has the corpus.
2. Constitutum Possessorium- as opposed to tradition brevi manu, constitutum
possessorium means that the mediate possession is transferred and the immediate
possession remains with the transferee. For example, if A purchases a bicycle from
 someone who also does the work of giving bicycles on hire. So, A allows him to keep the
bicycle and continue to use it for hiring purpose. Here, although the immediate
possession is still with the other person, A has got its possession through constructive
delivery.
3. Attornment- in this kind of delivery, there is transfer of mediate possession while
immediate possession is in the hands of a third person. For example, A has goods in the
warehouse of B and they are sold by A to C, then in this case A has constructively
delivered the goods to C as soon as B agrees to hold them for C and no longer for A.
[xix]
Â

(c) Operation of law-

Possession can be acquired by the operation of law also like in case of adverse possession and
of succession.

Characteristics of Ownership

The term ownership is emerged from the word 'own' which means "to have or to hold a

thing". One who holds a thing as his own is called owner and will have the right of ownership over it.

Therefore, the term ownership literary means “legitimate and absolute right of a person over a thing or

an object having title".

Definition of Ownership:

According to Austin: "Ownership means right which avails against everyone who is subject to the

law conferring the right to put thing to user of indefinite nature." Full ownership is defined as " a right

indefinite in point of user, unrestricted in point of disposition and unlimited in point of duration" it is a

right in rem which is available against the whole world.

Characteristics of ownership:

1) Right to possess -

Possession means "physical control over a thing or an object. To constitute ownership the owner

must be entitled to the possession of the property.

2) Right to possess the thing, which he owns:

This right in strict sense. He may not have necessarily the possession for he may have been
wrongfully deprived of it or may have voluntarily divested himself of it.

3) Right to use and enjoy:

The owner of the property has a right to use and enjoy the property he owns subject to certain

restrictions / regulations by law/state. These are liberties. The right to manage it for example: the right to

decide how it shall be used and the right to income from it. These are in fact liberties; the owner has

liberties to use the thing. I.e. he is under no duty not to use it in contract with other who is under duty

not to use it or interfere with it.

4) Right to Consume, destroy (liberties) or alienate:

It means right to dispose off or gift or Mortgage or lease etc. The right of owner over property is

absolute, which includes the right of alienation. The right to consume and to destroy is straightforward

liberties.

5) Perpetual right / Indeterminate Duration:

The owner of the property has perpetual right or the right for unlimited period over the property.

Those who are not owners may be entitled to possess or use the thing but the period for which they are

so entitled is a limited duration. But in case of Ownership, it is of an indeterminate duration. Thus the

interest of Bailee or lessee comes to an end when the period of bailment or lease is over. But the owner's

interest is perpetual and does not terminate even in owner's death, because in that case the property

will go to his legal hairs.

6) Actual right:

The right of owner over the property is heritable. It passes to the legal hairs after his death.

7) Ownership has a residuary character:

It is possible that an owner has parted or given away so many rights in respect of the things he

owned. Still he continues to be the owner of the things in view of the residuary character of ownership.

For example if and owner gives the lease of his property to A and easement to B, his Ownership of the
land is now consists of Residual right. For example rights which remain when the lesser rights have been

taken away.