Harihar Prasad Singh v. Munshi Nath Prasad
Rule established
Permissive user can never ripen into prescriptive easement regardless of duration; prescription requires use 'as of right' (nec precario)
Facts
- A person used a path over another's land for more than 20 years
- However, the use originally began with the landowner's permission (the landowner said "you may use my path")
- The user claimed a prescriptive easement under S.15
Issue
- Whether use that originated from permission can ripen into a prescriptive easement after 20 years.
Held
- No. Prescriptive user must be "as of right" (nec precario). Use that begins with permission remains permissive in character, regardless of how long it continues. Once the character of use is established as permissive, the clock for prescription never starts. The user has only a licence, revocable at will.
Ratio Decidendi
S.15 requires enjoyment that is peaceable (nec vi), open (nec clam), and as of right (nec precario). "As of right" means the user acts as if they have a right, without acknowledging the servient owner's superior title. Permission destroys this foundation because the user acknowledges they are using at the owner's pleasure.
How to use it in an exam
The most important case on permissive use vs. prescription. Use whenever the problem states the servient owner "allowed" or "gave permission." Key line: "Permissive user can never ripen into prescription; once permissive, always permissive."
Source
Source: Avatar Singh, Law of Transfer of Property
This is an educational summary, not the judgment itself. Cite the reported version in professional or academic work.