By the Court.—The petitioner states in his petition under Article 226 of the Constitution that he is a prospective purchaser of a plot at George Town, Amar Nath Jha Marg, Allahabad. The owner of the plot is stated to have executed a power of attorney to sell the property. The petitioner has stated that he approached the authorities to verify the authenticity of the power of attorney by an application dated 2 May 2014. In response to the application, the petitioner was informed that powers of attorney are placed in Book-IV and do not constitute public documents available for inspection in view of the provisions of Regulation 254 of the Registration Manual. A circular dated 3 July 2013 was issued to the effect that powers of attorney which relate to immovable property would, in accordance with the provisions of Section 51(2) of the Registration Act 1908, be placed in Book-I. Subsequently, on 12 February 2014, the Principal Secretary (Stamp & Registration) issued a communication to the Inspector General of Registration to the effect that the earlier circular dated 3 July 2013 was not in accordance with the legal position in view of the advice which was tendered by the Law Depa