HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH
MOHD.AHMED ANSARI, J.
D. Sardar Singh
Versus
Seth Pissumal Harbhagwandas Bankers
Second Appeal No. 272/2 of 1952-1953 against decree of 1st J, Secunderabad in A. S. No. 3/4 of 1952-53.
Decided On : 17-07-1957
REGISTRATION ACT - S. 26(1) - REGISTRATION OF SALE DEED - EXECUTION BY AGENT - VALIDITY - REGISTRATION BY REGISTRAR WITHOUT SATISFYING HIMSELF ABOUT AUTHORITY OF AGENT - INVALIDITY.
Fact of the Case:
The appellant purchased a house through a sale deed executed by persons holding two powers of attorney from the owners who were in Pakistan. The powers of attorney were not properly certified as per S. 69 of the Hyderabad Evidence Act, and the Registrar registered the sale deed without satisfying himself about the authority of the executants. The respondent, who had attached the house in execution of a decree against one of the owners, objected to the sale deed, and the appellant filed a suit for declaration of his title to the house.
Finding of the Court:
The court held that the registration of the sale deed was invalid because the Registrar had not satisfied himself about the authority of the executants as required by S. 27(b) of the Hyderabad Registration Act. The court also held that the presumption of genuineness of the powers of attorney could not arise because they were not properly authenticated as per S. 69 of the Hyderabad Evidence Act.
Issues: 1. Whether the registration of the sale deed was valid when the Registrar had not satisfied himself about the authority of the executants as required by S. 27(b) of the Hyderabad Registration Act? 2. Whether the presumption of genuineness of the powers of attorney could arise when they were not properly authenticated as per S. 69 of the Hyderabad Evidence Act?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the registration of the sale deed was invalid because the Registrar had not satisfied himself about the authority of the executants as required by S. 27(b) of the Hyderabad Registration Act. The court relied on the decision of the Privy Council in Jambu Prasad v. Muhammad Aftab Ali Khan, 42 Ind App 22 : (AIR 1914 PC 16) (E), which held that the registration of a document by a Registrar without satisfying himself about the authority of the person presenting the document for registration is invalid. 2. The court held that the presumption of genuineness of the powers of attorney could not arise because they were not properly authenticated as per S. 69 of the Hyderabad Evidence Act. The court relied on the decision of the Calcutta High Court in Satish Chandra v Harendra Kumar, 40 Cal WN 1051 : (AIR 1936 Cal 442) (B), which held that a person who has a power of attorney from another to execute a document and on the basis of such a power signs a document on behalf of the executant, is not a person executing a document within the meaning of S. 32 of the Registration Act.
Final Decision: The court dismissed the appeal and upheld the decision of the lower appellate court, which had dismissed the appellant's suit for declaration of his title to the house.
2. The facts in the case are not complicated. On June 16, 1949, the respondent had a house No. 31, Sadar Bazar, Bolaram, attached in execution of his decree against Abdul Majid Khan. The appellant by a sale deed of June 20, 1949, has purchased the same house. Some of the executants of the sale deed are not the owners; but profess to be holders of two powers of attorney from four persons, who claim to be the owners and were then in Pakistan. One of such executants is Mohd. Ayud Khan and purports to be the holder of a power of attorney from Abdul Majid Khan. The other, Abdul Rahman Khan, claims to have another power of attorney in his favour by Abdul Aziz Khan. Abdul Haq Khan and Mt. Kulfatbi.
Both these powers of attorney are admitted to have been executed and registered in Pakistan. Ex. P. 6 is the document in favour of Abdul Majid, and Ex. P. 7 is in favour of the Abdul Rahman Khan. These, however, are not on the records of the case; but the learned Judge of the lower appellate Court had called them from the office of the Sub-Registrar, and had found them not to have been properly certified for purposes of S. 69 of the Hvderabad Evidence Act, whose provisions were similar to S. 85 of the Evidence Act. The appellant on the basis of the sale deed in his favour, had objected to the execution of the decree against the house, and being unsuccessful in the execution proceedings, has filed the suit from which this second appellate Court has dismissed the claim.
The learned Judge of the lower appellate Court has allowed the appeal on the ground that the appellant had failed to prove the powers of attorney and has, therefore, failed to establish his title to the disputed house. There is no oral evidence on the record to prove the signatures of the executants of the two powers, and if those documents be held to be otherwise not proved, both the authorities to execute the sale deed and the registration of the deed would fail. The learned Judge of the lower appellate Court has referred to certain authorities concerning the failure of the Registrar to satisfy himself about the authority of the person presenting the document for registration, but he does not specifically decide the registration of the sale deed to be invalid.
The objection as to proper registration of the document was not specifically raised in the trial Court. But there is an issue as to whether the sale deed in favour of the appellant is by a duly authorised person, and the learned Advocate of the appellant has argued that as the two powers of attorney had been acted upon by the Registrar when he registered the sale deed, there is a presumption about their being genuine. Such a presumption cannot arise if the sale deed was not properly registered, which must be, therefore, determined in the case. The facts are not disputed that the sale deed has been executed by the persons holding the two powers and the Registrar had registered the deed on the assumption that the two executants were duly authorised.
Evidently, the Registrar has acted under S. 26 (1) of the Hyderabad Registration Act. The Advocate of the appellant had argued that because the executants have themselves presented the document for registration, no question of their having been properly authorised to present the deed for registration by the two powers of attorney arose. He relies on the use of the word "executant" in S. 26 (1) of the Hyderabad Act, which is similar to S. 32 of the Indian Registration Act. Admittedly, there is divergence of authorities on the point. In Sitaram Laxman Rao v. Dharmasukhram, ILR 51 Bom 971 : (AIR 1927 Bom 487) (A), the Full Bench of the Bombay High Court had taken the view that if a person executed a document even though as an agent of the owner and presented it
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