JUDGMENT

Petitioner has approached this Court seeking a direction to the 3rd respondent to register the sale deed as produced by the petitioner with respect to the property in Survey Nos.719/4 and 720/3 of the Vakkom Village, Chirayinkeezhu Taluk, Thiruvananthapuram District by virtue of Ext.P4 registered Power of Attorney.

2. A counter affidavit has been filed by the 3rd respondent, wherein paragraph 7 reads as follows:

“7. It is submitted that the latest rules regarding the transfer of immovable property by an NRI or OCI, or person resident outside India is The Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019. According to the provisions contained in this rules the exemptions regarding transfer or sale of property are only given to the persons registered as OCI and NRI. Others, ie., the persons residing outside India should seek permission from RBI for such transfers. Here the persons executed the power of attorney are not registered as OCI. So they can only be considered as persons residing outside India. So in order to register a sale deed as mentioned by the petitioner the permission from the RBI is needed as per the latest rule, i.e., The Foreign Exchange Management (Non- Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019. So the Hon'ble Court may please consider the above said facts.”

A reading of the counter affidavit revealed that it is only due to the restriction as per the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 regarding transfer of immovable property by an NRI or OCI, or person resident outside India, that the sale deed was not registered.

3. The specific contention of the petitioner that the petitioner is a person of Indian origin and that the property now sought to be sold is inherited by his father.

4. The learned Standing Counsel for the additional 4th respondent on instruction submitted that there is no restriction for a person of Indian origin to hold inherited property and to transfer the same for valid consideration. The only restriction being with regard to the transfer of the sale consideration outside the country and that the only aspect that the petitioner has to satisfy before the registering authority is that she is a person of Indian origin.

5. The learned Standing Counsel for the 4th respondent would submit referring to the circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India, that a person of Indian origin has been defined which includes a person who or either of whose father or whose grandfather was a citizen of India by virtue of the Constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955.

6. The learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that he is ready to produce documents to substantiate that she is a person of Indian origin. On production of a sufficient proof, there will be a direction to the 3rd respondent to register the sale deed produced by the petitioner with respect to the property in Survey Nos.719/4 and 720/3 of the Vakkom Village, Chirayinkeezhu Taluk, Thiruvananthapruam District by virtue of Ext.P4 registered Power of Attorney, within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the judgment.

The writ petition is disposed of as above.

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VIJU ABRAHAM, JUDGE pm The third paragraph of the judgment in WP(C) No.33671/2023 dated 11/3/2024 is substituted and corrected as, “3. The specific contention of the petitioner is that the owners of the property are persons of Indian origin and that they have inherited the property through their father”.

Also, the first sentence in paragraph 6 of the judgment is substituted and corrected as, “The learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that petitioner is ready and willing to produce documents to substantiate that the owners of the property are persons of Indian origin”.

As per order dated 11/04/2024 in I.A.No.3/2024 in WP(C)

No.33671/2023.

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JOINT REGISTRAR APPENDIX OF WP(C) 33671/2023 PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS Exhibit P1 THE PHOTOSTAT COPY OF THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE OF SRI. KRISHNA VENUGOPAL NUMBERED B838113 DATED 31.10.1971 Exh