The Supreme Court on Tuesday said allowing the State to appropriate private property through adverse possession would undermine the constitutional rights of citizens and erode public trust in the government. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale dismissed an appeal of the Haryana government challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court order restoring the possession of land to a private party in which the state's Public Works Department (PWD) has staked its claim. "We find no merit in the appellants' contentions. The high court's judgement is based on sound legal principles and correct appreciation of evidence. The plaintiffs (private party) have established their ownership of the suit property, and the State cannot claim adverse possession against its own citizens," it said. The dispute pertains to land in Bahadurgarh at Haryana located on the National Highway, which connects Delhi and Bahadurgarh. The bench relied on the entries of the revenue records which established t