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2024 Supreme(Online)(Mad) 54101

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
A.A.NAKKIRAN, J
S.M.Mariyam Aysha Umma – Appellant
Versus
Ashok Kumar – Respondent
C.S. No.519 of 2016 | C.S. No.204 of 2020



Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Mr. A.Mohammed Ismail
For the Respondents: Mr.V. Manohar

The cancellation of a Power of Attorney is valid if executed without notice to the agent, and subsequent transactions based on it can be declared null and void due to coercion and lack of informed consent.

Headnote:(A) Indian Contract Act - Sections 201, 202, 206, and 208 - Power of Attorney - Cancellation of Power of Attorney dated 29.10.2015 deemed valid - Sale deeds executed based on invalid Power of Attorney are declared null and void - Plaintiffs proved valid cancellation of Power of Attorney; Defendants failed to prove payment of sale consideration. (Paras 15-18)

(B) Coercion and Fraud - Execution of documents under threat and duress; Plaintiffs' signatures obtained without consent; Defendants acted in collusion with registering authorities. (Paras 16-17)

Facts of the case:
The plaintiffs, belonging to a wealthy family, alleged coercion in executing a Power of Attorney and subsequent sale deeds, claiming that the documents were executed under threat and without informed consent. The plaintiffs sought to declare these documents null and void.

Findings of Court:
The court found the cancellation of the Power of Attorney valid and the subsequent sale deeds executed by the second defendant in favor of the third defendant as invalid, as the plaintiffs were in uninterrupted possession of the property.

Issues: The main issues were the validity of the Power of Attorney cancellation and whether the sale deeds executed were valid.

Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that the Power of Attorney was validly canceled, and the sale deeds executed based on it were invalid due to the lack of consent and coercion involved in their execution.

Result: C.S. No.519 of 2016 is partly decreed; C.S. No.204 of 2020 is dismissed.

Table of Content
1. commonality of facts in suits. (Para 1 , 2)
2. plaintiffs' ownership and financial background. (Para 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10)
3. coercion and fraudulent transactions. (Para 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17)

COMMON JUDGMENT

The both suits have been filed seeking the relief as stated above.

2. Since the above suits have been filed on similar set of facts, submission being common, common Trial was conducted and both suits are disposed of by means of this Common Judgment. For the sake of convenience, parties to the litigation have been referred to hereunder as arrayed in C.S. No.519 of 2016.

3.The case of the Plaintiffs in C.S. No.519 of 2016/defendants in C.S. No.204 of 2020, as set out, in the plaint and Written Statement respectively, is as follows:-

(a).The first plaintiff is the mother of the second plaintiff. The first plaintiff is the homemaker and an illiterate pardanasin Muslim woman. The 2nd plaintiff is a trustee of a public trust by name "Mohammed Sathak Trust" which runs 18 educational institutions including an engineering college. The plaintiffs belong to a traditionally rich family and the plaintiffs 1 and 2 have been getting rental income of around Rs.3,00,000/-(Rupees three lakhs) per month from their properties. They also have other income. Thus, the incomes they receive from the properties they own are more than sufficient to meet their expenses. They had no necessity at all to dispose any of their properties.

ii. The plaintiffs further submit that the suit property originally belonged to the father of the second plaintiff who had purchased it by a registered sale deed dated 31.7.1967 and he had passed away on 19.3.2004 leaving behind the plaintiffs as the legal heirs. From then, the plaintiffs are its absolute owners and have been in possession and enjoyment of the same. It is a non-residential property and is under the occupation of the tenants who have been paying rent to the plaintiffs. They had also effected mutation of Government and Municipal Corporation records in their name. The present market value of the said property is around Rs.5,00,00,000/-(Rupees five crores only).

(iii). The plaintiffs further submit that the first plaintiff and her husband late S.M. Dastagir did not have child for a long time. Only after more than 18 years of their marital life, they begot the second plaintiff along with another child as twin child and the second child passed away at a later point of time. The 2nd plaintiff had born as a premature baby. The 1st plaintiff belongs to a very rich family, who own several properties. The father of the 2nd plaintiff, till his demise in the year 2004 was a trustee of Mohammed Sathak Trust. On his demise, the 2nd plaintiff has been appointed as a trustee in his place. Because of their status and wealth and because of the fact that the 2nd plaintiff is the only son, the 1st plaintiff and her husband took much care of the 2nd plaintiff and did not permit him to face the world independently. The 2nd plaintiff is not doing any business or profession and lived only with the rental income and in managing his household works, he is guided by his relatives. In these circumstances, he got married with on 22.12.2014.

(iv).It is further submitted that about six months prior to his marriage, the 2nd plaintiff met one Javvad, who was known to him for about three years. Both the plaintiffs and Javvad belong to Keelakarai in Ramanathapuram District. Javvad told the 2nd plaintiff that the 2nd plaintiff was not having independent business and so, he was not enjoying full respect among his relatives. He suggested to the 2nd plaintiff to commence a business and earn money which would only give him respect from the bride's family. Javvad had also promised to help the 2nd plaintiff in the business and earn lucrative return for his investments. Javvad suggested to the 2nd plaintiff that they had to import air conditioner and television set etc. and sell them locally which would yield lucrati

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