Jurisprudence: Possession.

1.  "Possession" literary means physical control over a
thing or an object. It expresses the closest relation of
fact that can exist between a thing and the person,
who possess it. In law, possession means it includes
not only physical control over a thing but also an
intention to exercise that physical control.
Possession

2.  Some jurists has given different definition:-
 John Salmond: Salmond defines Possession as,
“possession is the continuing exercise of a claim to
the Exclusive use of an object.”
 Savigny: Savigny defines Possession as, “intention
coupled with physical power to exclude others from
the use of material object.
Definition

3.  There are two elements of possession:-
 Physical control or power over the object possessed
(corpus possession ); and
 The intention or will to exercise that power(animus
possession).
Elements of Possession

4.  Corpus means that the existence of such physical contact
of a person with thing as to give rise to a reasonable
assumption that the others will not interfere with it. There
may be an actual physical contact, (a coin in my hand or in
my purse in the pocket) or there may be the cases when
there is no physical contact e.g., when a person takes out
the purse and drops by mistake coin in the gutter; he walks
ahead without noticing the loss– here the corpus remains
with him until someone else picked it up.
 The second element of the corpus is that the possessor
must have the ability to exclude others. There is no hard
and fast rule regarding the amount of power to exclude
others.
Corpus of possession

5.  Animus possidendi means intention of possession and a
person claiming possession must intend in his mind to
possess property as his own and i does not mean that he
must be conscious that property belongs to somebody
else.
 Animus possidendi or the subjective element in possession
is the in to appropriate to oneself the exclusive use of the
thing possessed. The animus possidendi is the conscious
intention of the individual to exclude others from the
control of an object.
Animus Possidendi

6.  Immediate and mediate
 Corporeal and incorporeal
 Representative possession
 Constructive possession
Kinds of Possession

7.  Immediate possession is also called direct possession
and mediate possession is also known as indirect
possession If the relation between the possessor and
the thing possessed is a direct one, it is a case of
immediate possession. When that relation is through
the intervention or agency of some other person, it is
called mediate possession.
Immediate and mediate

8.  Corporeal possession is the possession of a material
object and incorporeal possession is the possession of
anything other than a material object.
 Corporeal possession is the possession of a thing and
incorporeal possession is the possession of a right.
 I have corporeal possession of my car and books, but I
have incorporeal possession of a trade mark, a patent
and a copyright.
Corporeal and incorporeal

9.  Representative possession is that in which the owner
has possession of a thing through an agent or a
servant.
Representative possession

10.  Constructive possession is not actual possession. It is
a possession in law and not possession in fact.
 If I hand over the key of a building to a tenant, give
constructive possession of the building to the tenant
 The handing over of the key shows that possession
has changed in law although not in fact.
Constructive possession

11.  Possession is divided into two categories, viz.
possession In fact & possession in law.
 Possession in fact is actual or physical possession
physical relation to a thing.
 Possession in law means possession in the law. It
means a possession which is recognised and
protected by law.
Possession In Fact And In law

12.  According to Savigny’s theory, both the corpus of
possession and the animus possidendi must be present to
constitute possession. As regards the corpus of According
possession, it is necessary that in every acquisition of
possession, there must exist in the possessor a physical
power of dealing with the subject immediately and of
excluding others. When the possession of a thing has been
acquired and that possession is intended to be continued,
the possessor must have the ability to bring forth physical
power to exclude others if they try to interfere with him in
any way. However, immediate physical power of the
possessor over the thing is not necessary.
Savigny's theory of possession

13. Conclusion
Possession and proprietorship contrast in their modes of obtaining
too. The exchange of possession is nearly simpler and less
specialized, yet the exchange of possession in most cases involves
a specialized procedure of convincing.
The privileges of possession and proprietorship are considered the
equivalent. Within the points of confinement recommended by
arrangement, the proprietor is permitted to practice his normal
control over the subject-matter interfered with, and is, pretty
much, shielded in excluding other individuals from such
interference. The proprietor is permitted to exclude all and is
responsible to nobody. The owner is permitted to exclude
everything except one and is accountable to nobody but himself.

14. Thank you