The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has ordered that Rajpattie Thakur in her capacity as the executrix of the will of her mother, Dolarie Thakur, be declared the rightful owner of land at Plantation Mon Desir, Canal No. 2 West Bank Demerara, (WBD).
The disputed land had been used as a farm by the family for over 40 years. Bissoon Thakur, the appellant’s father, and Dolarie Thakur’s husband, went into occupation of the land in the 1970’s, with the permission of the owner of the land, Prince Maison.
Thakur planted various crops without interruption until 1982. In that year, the land was sold to another man, Basil Basdeo, due to non-payment of rates and taxes.
Basdeo later obtained a transport in 1982, which is a document under Guyanese law which transfers the ownership of the land. He later discovered the Thakurs’ occupation of the land, and threatened the family with legal action to remove them from the land.
Thakur ignored the threat, but sought assistance from local bodies and Prince Maison to remain on the land.
Basdeo’s threat to sue never materialized and Mr. Thakur, and his family, remained on the land until it was sold to the respondent, Deodat Ori in 1997. When Mr. Ori visited the land later that year, he found the appellant’s brother, Jaipaul, on the land and asked him to vacate the land then, and again in September 1997.
Two High Court actions were then instituted: including one by Basdeo and Ori over trespassing on the land. The second High Court action was filed by the appellant and Jaipaul Thakur, where they sought a declaration that they were legally entitled to farm the land. They also filed a petition for prescriptive title in 2002, which allows people to apply for a title for land under stated conditions, though this was later withdrawn.
At the Commissioner of Title proceeding in Guyana, it was noted Dolarie Thahkur had continued possession of the land after her husband’s death in 1991 until her own death in 2003 which would meet the required period for a prescriptive title. However, the Court of Appeal in Guyana disagreed with that decision that the court felt that there were false statements and non-disclosures of facts by Rajpattie Thakur, and for that reason she should not have won the case.
On this issue, the CCJ, after a close examination of the record, disagreed with the Court of Appeal.
The Court then considered whether Thakur was able to establish that her father and her mother had occupied the land from 1984 until their respective deaths and found that there “was more than enough evidence on record to support factual possession of the land at all material times”, in addition to an intention to hold the land as owner.
The order of the Court of Appeal was set aside and the order of the Commissioner of Title dated 14 July 2008, granting a declaration of title for the land in dispute to Ms. Thakur, was reinstated.
The CCJ also awarded basic costs for two attorneys to the Appellant. The applications were determined by CCJ Justices Jacob Wit, David Hayton, Winston Anderson, Denys Barrow and Maureen Rajnauth-Lee.
Ms. Rajpattie Thakur was represented by Roopnarine Satram, Chandrapratesh Satram and Mr. Visal Satram while Mohabir Anil Nandlall and Manoj Narayan represented Mr. Ori.
June 21, 2018
Source: https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2018/06/21/ccj-orders-prescriptive-title-to-guyanese-family-involved-in-land-dispute/
