PATNEEDI RUDRAYYA vs VELUGUBANTLA VENKAYYA AND OTHERS

The Supreme Court ruled that a riparian owner does not have the right to impede the natural flow of water, even in cases of extraordinary floods, as established under the Indian Easement Act, 1882, specifically Sections 7 and 11. The Court held that the construction of a bund and trenches by the respondents, which caused stagnation of flood water on the appellant's land, constituted a wrongful act. The Court clarified that a phenomenon can be deemed to have occurred from time immemorial if its origin is not within human memory, and thus the flooding was not an unusual event.