Property Licensing in Indian Law: The Past, Present and Cloudy Future

  • Amrutha Alapati
  • June 14, 2020

Content :

Leave and Licensing in India has never truly occupied a central role in property law. It is governed by the Indian Easement Act, 1882 and has never seen any major change in legislative, executive or judicial law making. One would be hard pressed to find a detailed study of leave and licensing in India, its history, evolution, present scenario and future implications. This paper aims to do just that. Licensing is a type of transfer of immovable property whereby, only a permission to utilise the immovable property for a specific purpose is transferred. Therefore, it differs from leave and license as it does not confer rights of ownership or possession or indeed, any other right or interest in the immovable property. In this sense, it is favourable towards the licensor as it effectively prevents future litigation and does not allow ambiguity. This Article discussed the need for property licensing, the laws governing it, essential characteristics and goes on to individually explain them. It then evaluates the past procedures and considerations for leave and license agreements, the present situation and what the future for leave and licensing agreements looks like. This article also highlights the impact of COVID-19 and its implications for leave and licensing agreements in the future and discussed possible suggestions to rectify the existing legal issues.