Encroachment Complaint Guide India — Municipal + Police (2026)

A senior citizen in Bangalore returns from holiday to find his neighbour has extended a wall into his setback, blocking the rear gate of his property. Encroachment — by neighbours, builders, vendors, illegal squatters, or rogue municipal contractors — is one of the most disputed civic issues in urban India. This page explains what counts as encroachment, how to escalate to the municipal corporation, police and civil court, and the RTI route to enforce removal.

To remove an encroachment in India: (1) photograph the encroachment with a Google Maps location pin and landmark; (2) file a written complaint with the municipal corporation's Encroachment / Town Planning department (BBMP for Bangalore, MCGM for Mumbai, MCD for Delhi, GHMC for Hyderabad) — these bodies have statutory power to demolish encroachments after notice; (3) file an FIR at the local police station under BNS, 2023 §329 (criminal trespass); (4) file a civil suit — for recovery or restoration of possession under the Specific Relief Act, 1963 §5 / §6, and for a temporary injunction under CPC Order 39 Rule 1 & 2; (5) for revenue or grant land, complain to the Tahsildar / Revenue Inspector under the state land-revenue code; (6) for systemic non-action, file a High Court Article 226 writ.

• What counts as encroachment
• Documenting the encroachment
• Municipal complaint pathway
• Civil court route — possession and injunction
• Police FIR — criminal route
• Land records + survey extracts
• Specific scenarios — neighbour, vendor, builder
• Sample municipal complaint + injunction petition
• Filing an RTI to land records / municipal
• FAQ
• Myth vs reality

• Building / wall / structure extending beyond your boundary onto another's land.
• Permanent occupation of public land (footpath, road, drain, park).
• Permanent occupation of common-area or amenity space.
• Blocking access (driveway, gate, common path).
• Constructing beyond the sanctioned plan and setback distances.
• Vendor / hawker stall on a footpath without a licence.
• Builder / developer construction extending beyond the approved plan.
• Illegal squatter occupation without legal title.

Warning — Some “encroachments” are lawful temporary occupation (vendors with a valid licence, contractors with written permission). Verify before you act.

• Multiple angles, with the landmark visible.
• Date / time / location metadata.
• Encroachment dimensions (use a measuring tape).
• Witness signatures on the photographs.

• Pre-encroachment photographs (Google Street View, family albums, Google Earth historical imagery).
• Pre-encroachment survey records.
• Witnesses who can testify to the original boundary.

• Hire a licensed surveyor.
• Obtain a survey extract from the sub-registrar / revenue office.
• Compare the actual boundary with the surveyed boundary.

• 2-3 neighbours who saw the encroachment being built.
• Watchman / security personnel as witnesses.

• Original sale deed / conveyance deed.
• Property tax records showing your boundary.
• Approved sanctioned plan from the municipal corporation.
• RTC / Khata / Patta records for revenue properties.

City-specific portals:

• Bangalore — BBMP at bbmp.gov.in (Sahaaya)
• Mumbai — MCGM at mcgm.gov.in (MCGM 24×7 app)
• Delhi — MCD at mcdonline.nic.in
• Hyderabad — GHMC at ghmc.gov.in (My GHMC app)
• Chennai — Greater Chennai Corporation at chennaicorporation.gov.in
• Pune — PMC at pmc.gov.in

• Letter in the official format (see sample below).
• Send by Speed Post AD + email.
• Keep the acknowledgement. The corporation typically acknowledges and replies within 30 days.

On investigation, the municipal corporation issues a removal notice under the relevant provision of your state's Municipal Corporation Act — for example Section 314 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888 (summary removal of structures on streets/footpaths) or Section 351 read with 354A (unauthorised building work) in Mumbai; Sections 285 and 321 of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976 in Bangalore; or the equivalent provision in your state. The encroacher is given an opportunity to respond and a short notice period to remove the structure. If unremoved, the corporation carries out demolition.

Demolition is carried out by municipal staff. The cost is recovered from the encroacher's property tax, building tax, or by attaching movable property.

The encroacher can appeal before the Town Planning Tribunal / state appellate authority within the period set by the state act (usually 30 days).

The civil route gives you two distinct remedies, and they are usually filed together in one suit.

• §5 — suit by a person dispossessed on the basis of title: you prove you are the owner and are entitled to possession.
• §6 — suit by a person dispossessed without consent and otherwise than in due course of law. This is a fast statutory remedy in which the court can restore possession. A suit under §6 must be filed within six months of the dispossession.

A temporary / interim injunction restrains the encroacher from continuing construction or altering the property while the suit is pending:

• Order 39 Rule 1 — where the property is in danger of being wasted, damaged or alienated.
• Order 39 Rule 2 — to restrain a breach of contract or other injury.

An interim ex-parte injunction (without notice to the other side) can be moved urgently. The court grants it if there is a prima facie case, a risk of irreparable harm, and the balance of convenience in your favour.

• Plaintiff: you, the legal owner / person in lawful possession.
• Defendant: the encroacher.
• Forum: Civil Judge (Senior Division), or the court of appropriate pecuniary jurisdiction.

An aggrieved party can appeal to the High Court within 30 days of the final order.

If the encroachment involves criminal trespass or threats, an FIR can be filed in parallel with the civil suit — the civil and criminal routes can run at the same time:

• BNS, 2023 §329 — criminal trespass (and house-trespass).
• BNS, 2023 §351 — criminal intimidation, if threats are made.
• BNS, 2023 §130 — assault, if the encroacher resists.
• BNS, 2023 §61 — criminal conspiracy, where two or more people agreed to commit the trespass.

File at the local police station with the photographs, sale deed and survey extract.

Move an application before the Magistrate under BNSS, 2023 §175(3) to direct the police to investigate / register the FIR.

Each state's land-records portal:

• Karnataka — landrecords.karnataka.gov.in (Bhoomi)
• Maharashtra — mahabhumi.gov.in (7/12 Satbara, 8A, property card)
• Tamil Nadu — eservices.tn.gov.in (Patta Chitta)
• Andhra Pradesh — meebhoomi.ap.gov.in
• Uttar Pradesh — upbhulekh.gov.in

Apply at the local Tahsildar / sub-registrar office.

For encroachment on government revenue land (natham, poramboke, tanks, lakes, gomala), complain to the Tahsildar / Revenue Inspector / Revenue Divisional Officer, who can survey and evict under the state land-revenue code — for example Section 192A of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 for unlawful occupation of government land. Appeals lie to the Revenue Divisional Officer / Collector and onward to the Board of Revenue.

• Photograph + boundary verification.
• Verbal then written demand for removal.
• Police mediation.
• Civil suit for possession and injunction.
• FIR if construction continues during the litigation.

• Verify the hawker licence with the municipal corporation.
• If unlicensed, file a complaint with photographic evidence.
• The municipal corporation's encroachment-removal squad / marshals remove unlicensed stalls.

• Match the builder's construction against the sanctioned plan.
• The municipal corporation's Town Planning wing can issue a stop-work notice and order demolition.
• If the project is RERA-registered, file a RERA complaint.
• Civil suit for injunction and damages.

• The most sensitive category. Courts usually direct the municipal corporation to act rather than allow private demolition.
• The religious authority managing the structure can be made a party.

• Tahsildar / Revenue Inspector under the state revenue code.
• Municipal corporation's Encroachment Cell.
• A PIL before the High Court for systemic encroachment.

[Complainant's letterhead]
By Speed Post AD + email
DD-MM-2026

To,
The Commissioner / Encroachment Cell
[Municipal Corporation Name]

Sub: Complaint of unauthorised encroachment

I, [Name], owner of property at [Address] (Plot /
Survey No. _______, Khata _______), submit:

1. The property at [Adjacent Address] has an
   unauthorised wall and structure extending into my
   boundary, constructed between DD-MM-2026 and
   DD-MM-2026.

2. The encroachment violates:
   (a) the encroacher's sanctioned plan and setback;
   (b) my registered ownership rights;
   (c) the relevant provisions of the state
       Municipal Corporation Act.

3. The encroachment has blocked my rear gate.

I request:
  (a) immediate field verification and survey overlay;
  (b) a notice to the encroacher to remove the
      structure;
  (c) if unremoved, demolition and cost recovery;
  (d) action against the encroacher's property tax
      and building tax records.

I have separately filed FIR no. _______ under
BNS, 2023 §329.

Yours sincerely,
[Name, address, contact]

IN THE COURT OF THE CIVIL JUDGE (SR. DIVISION)
        [District]

OS No. _________ of 2026

[Owner Name]                                ... Plaintiff
        [Address]

vs.

[Encroacher Name]                          ... Defendant
        [Address]

PETITION UNDER CPC ORDER 39 RULES 1 AND 2
(interim and permanent injunction), WITH A SUIT
FOR POSSESSION UNDER THE SPECIFIC RELIEF ACT,
1963 §5 / §6

The plaintiff respectfully submits as under:

[Pleadings — facts; prayer for ex-parte interim
injunction restraining further construction and a
mandatory direction to remove the existing
encroachment; prayer for possession.]

Documents annexed:
  Annexure A — Sale deed
  Annexure B — Survey extract
  Annexure C — Photographs
  Annexure D — Google Maps location pin
  Annexure E — Witness affidavits
  Annexure F — Notice to defendant
  Annexure G — Sanctioned plan

Verification: [Standard]

PIO, [Municipal Corporation / Tahsildar / Sub-Registrar]

Sub: Application under §6(1) RTI Act 2005

Please furnish, in respect of property at [Address]:

1. Latest mutation / RTC / Patta extract.
2. Sanctioned building plan.
3. Property tax records for the last 5 years.
4. Any complaints of encroachment / unauthorised
   construction registered in the last 24 months.
5. Action taken on each, with reference numbers.
6. Any pending notices under the municipal act.
7. The concerned Town Planning Officer / Encroachment
   Cell inspector.

A reply is requested under §7(1) within 30 days.

[Name, address, contact]
DD-MM-2026

Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation (1985) 3 SCC 545 — the constitutional balance between evicting pavement dwellers and their right to livelihood under Article 21. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation v. Nawab Khan Gulab Khan (1997) 11 SCC 121 — no person has a right to encroach on footpaths or spaces reserved for a public purpose, though the state has a duty to arrange shelter for those displaced. Jagpal Singh v. State of Punjab (2011) 11 SCC 396 — village common / Gram Sabha land cannot be regularised; courts have directed States to protect common land from encroachment.

Statutes and rules:

• BNS, 2023 — §329 (criminal trespass / house-trespass), §61 (criminal conspiracy), §130 (assault), §351 (criminal intimidation)
• BNSS, 2023 — §175(3) (Magistrate's direction to investigate)
• BSA, 2023 — §63 (electronic records, replaces Evidence Act §65B)
• Specific Relief Act, 1963 — §5 and §6 (recovery / restoration of possession; §6 limitation — 6 months)
• CPC 1908 — Order 39 Rule 1 & 2 (temporary injunctions)
• RTI Act 2005 — §6(1), §7(1)
• State Municipal Corporation Acts (e.g. Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888; Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976; BBMP Act, 2020) and state land-revenue codes (e.g. Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 §192A)

Related RTI Wiki pages:

• AI RTI Drafter — draft the RTI for land records
• Illegal construction complaint guide
• Society maintenance harassment
• RTI Act 2005 — complete guide

A boundary wall on the line is usually permitted with both owners' consent. Without consent and a survey verification, it is encroachment.

Adverse possession under the Limitation Act 1963 may apply after 12 years for private land (30 years for government land). But a continuous chain of demand letters and protests interrupts the limitation period.

No. That would be taking the law into your own hands. Use the municipal, revenue or civil-court route.

File an RTI with the corporation asking for the action-taken status. If there is still no action, file a High Court Article 226 writ for a direction.

Yes — for systemic or large-scale encroachment on public land. A PIL before the High Court can compel municipal action.

Builder encroachment is also a RERA matter if the project is RERA-registered. RERA can issue a stop-work and demolition order.

Court fees and lawyer fees vary by city and the value of the suit. Expect a first-stage outlay in the range of ₹15,000-₹50,000 in most cities; confirm the current court fee and fee structure with a local advocate.

Yes — Google Earth historical imagery and commercial satellite imagery are admissible as electronic records under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA, 2023) §63, which replaced the old Evidence Act §65B.

Yes — a civil suit can claim the cost of restoration, consequential loss, and in suitable cases compensation for mental agony.

The burden of proof is on him. Without a written consent, signed and dated and witnessed, the claim fails.

Last reviewed: 17 July 2026.