The Doctrine of Adverse Possession allows a person to claim ownership of a property in case he/she has been in possession of that property for a minimum of 12 years and there was no legal effort during that period from the real owner to oust him/her from the property.
The Doctrine of Lost Grant implies that a long, continuous use or possession points to a legal presumption that the right to use was previously conveyed to the user and that the physical instrument of conveyance has been lost.
While the Doctrine of Adverse Possession is applied in case of the title vesting in a separate person, the Doctrine of Lost Grant presumes the existence of the title with the user. Each doctrine prevents the other’s application on the disputed property. Recently, these two concepts were looked into by the Supreme Court while adjudicating on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute.