Whether it’s a home, property, land, or a shop, transactions involving any kind of immovable assets can be done through legal documents like Power of Attorney (PoA) and Will. The question arises:
Can a person who has been named in a will or general power of attorney assert ownership rights over the property using these documents?
The Supreme Court has recently made a significant ruling regarding the legitimacy of both wills and power of attorney documents about property ownership rights.
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The court stated that neither a will (before the testator’s death) nor a power of attorney can be recognized as documents conferring rights in any immovable property, serving as ownership documents.
In the case of Ghanshyam vs. Yogendra Rathi, Justice Deepankar Datta, and Justice Pankaj Mithal, while delivering the verdict, emphasized that a power of attorney becomes futile if the holder fails to execute any document.
The bench remarked, ‘In the context of a general power of attorney and the executed will, any practice prevalent in any state or high court that recognizes these documents as ownership documents or grants them validity as papers conferring rights in immovable property is a violation of statutory law.
No tradition can override the specific provisions of the law that require the execution, transfer, or registration of ownership documents for immovable property valued at more than 100 rupees.’
A will becomes effective only after the death of the person who made it
According to a report from LiveLaw., the High Court has addressed the issue of whether ownership can be conferred through a will. The court stated that a will becomes effective only after the death of the will executor.
Unlike other documents, the person creating the will does not have any power over it while alive. In this case, the person making the will is alive, so the court emphasized that a will does not grant any rights to the objector. A will cannot be recognized as a document conferring rights in any immovable property.
The execution of Power of Attorney is essential
The bench remarked that the general power of attorney given by the appellant in this case is irrelevant.
The respondent has not utilized this power of attorney to execute any sale deed or take any action that could confer ownership of the property to the appellant. Failing to execute any document renders the general power of attorney ineffective.
The transfer of property is valid only through a registered deed
The Supreme Court has reiterated in the case of Suraj Lamp and Industries Pvt. Ltd. vs. Haryana State and Others (2009) and recently in the case of Ghanshyam vs. Yogendra Rathi that the transfer of immovable property can only be legally carried out through a registered conveyance deed.
Sales agreements, general power of attorney, and wills cannot be considered valid means for such transfers. The court has reaffirmed its stance in the Ghanshyam vs. Yogendra Rathi case, aligning with its decision in the Suraj Lamp and Industries Pvt. Ltd. case.
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