Bought Land, Now Caught in a Messy Legal Battle – Need Advice!
Four months ago, I purchased 5.25 beegha (around 3.25 acres) of agricultural land in a village in North India. I thought everything was in order—the papers checked out, registration and mutation went smoothly, and government records now officially list me as the owner.
Here’s the situation:
The land went through three hindu parties:
1. The original seller (a relative of my seller), sold the land to my seller.
2. My seller sold the land to me.
When I bought it, I couldn’t take immediate possession because of the rainy season and an ongoing bajra crop. I agreed to wait until after the harvest (by Diwali). But now, there’s a new harvest, and when I pushed for possession, the seller advised me to bring the police along, raising my suspicions.
Here’s the bombshell:
I visited the first seller and found out he was allegedly tricked into selling the ancestral land while drunk. The second party (my seller) apparently paid him for 1 beegha but fraudulently registered 5.25 beegha. Now, the first seller’s underage son is planning to file a legal case, claiming the land is ancestral in nature and hence the land cannot be sold without the consent of his mother and siblings.
To make matters worse, a farmer (known to first party) from an SC/ST community is currently cultivating the land, and I don’t want to escalate the situation for fear of being entangled in harassment cases.
Current Status:
• The land is in my name but without possession.
• The first seller doesn’t have money to buy the land back.
• My seller (the second party) is ghosting me and appears to be a serial fraudster.
• On first seller's son's behalf, a legal notice has already been sent to his father, my seller (excluding me), and the case is heading to court challenging the sale on following grounds:
1) Land being ancestral property, consent from underage kids was not taken and hence his & his siblings inherited share is illegally sold
2) 1st seller was intoxicated while selling the land to my seller.
What are my legal options to take the land pocession?