Ahmedabad: Gujarat high court has restored ownership of a land parcel in Vadodara to an NRI man in London after setting aside a gift deed executed by his power of attorney holder in favour of the latter’s son and daughter-in-law without consent.Purshotam Pankhania and his wife, Rama, had bought a 3,200 sq m plot in a housing society in Vadodara’s Sayajiganj area in 1999 through Hari Patel, to whom they had issued a general power of attorney. Ramaben died in 2010. A few years later, Pankhania learned that Patel had executed a gift deed in Jan 2011, transferring the land to his son, Sashikant, and daughter-in-law, Ushaben.Pankhania moved a civil court in Vadodara seeking cancellation of the gift deed, alleging that Patel had misused the power of attorney in collusion with his son and daughter-in-law. The civil court rejected the suit, accepting Patel’s claim that there had been financial dealings between Sashikant and Pankhania, including a payment of £7,800 made to Pankhania, which was not repaid. Patel argued that Pankhania had agreed to transfer the property as an adjustment of dues.The high court examined whether a general power of attorney could authorise an act not expressly permitted, and whether that authority continued after the death of the person who had granted it. It held that the power of attorney executed by Rama ceased on her death and could not be used to transfer property thereafter.It said, “…no such transaction can be entered into on the basis thereof post the death of the principal of the power of attorney even while pleading ignorance of death of the principal and therefore, in absence of any clause/recital or any specific power to execute a gift deed, the act done by Patel in the capacity of the power of attorney holder of Ramaben (since deceased) can be said to be an illegal act and does not have any leg to stand in the eye of law. (sic)”The high court said the civil court seemed to have gone beyond the scope of the case and based its findings on assumptions and presumptions, while treating alleged financial transactions as authority for the transfer of the property.
