(a)
(1) On the trial of the cause, the petitioner shall exhibit to the court proof that taxes owed on the lands were either paid, settled, or released and, in the case of lands acquired from levee and drainage improvement districts:
(A) All delinquent taxes that have been paid, settled, or released;
(B) The deed or deeds under which he or she claims title, or the record thereof, or a certified copy or copies from the record; and
(C) Oral or written proof by one (1) or more witnesses acquainted with the lands showing that no one is in possession claiming adverse to the petitioner.
(2) The name of the witness or witnesses so sworn shall be preserved in the decree.
(b) A sheriff's or land commissioner's deed, given in the usual form, without witnesses, shall be taken and considered by the court as sufficient evidence of the authority under which the sale was made, the description of the land, and the price at which it was purchased.