Easement:

An easement is a legal right granted by one landowner (the grantor) to another landowner (the grantee) to use a specific portion of the grantor’s property for a specific purpose. This right attaches to the land itself, not the individual owner.

Illustration: Imagine a landlocked property (no direct road access). The owner can obtain an easement from a neighbor for a right of way to access the public road. This easement allows the landlocked property owner to use the neighbor’s land for a defined purpose (creating a pathway) but doesn’t transfer ownership.

License:

A license, on the other hand, is a personal permission granted by a landowner to someone (the licensee) to use their property for a specific purpose. It’s temporary and revocable at any time by the landowner. Unlike an easement, a license is not a property right and doesn’t run with the land.

Illustration: Granting permission to a neighbor to use your garden for a birthday party is a license. The neighbor has temporary access for a specific event, but this right doesn’t transfer to anyone else, and you can revoke it anytime.

Key Differences:

Main Sections of the Indian Easements Act, 1882

The Indian Easements Act, 1882 governs easements in India. Here are some of the main sections:

• Section 4: Defines an easement.
• Section 5: Lists various types of easements, such as right of way, right to light, and right to water.
• Section 6: Explains how easements are created (through express grant, implied grant, or prescription).
• Section 7: Explains how easements can be extinguished (through surrender, release, abandonment, or variation).
• Sections 8-15: Deal with specific types of easements, such as right of way and right to light.
• Sections 16-64: Cover various aspects of easements, including dominant and servient tenements, user of easements, and restrictions on easements.