Delhi government decision on property sale to hurt owners

The Delhi government's decision to ban sale of property through general power of attorney (GPA) would cause hardship to property owners in Delhi, who bought the property on GPA, which lacked perfect documentation but were free from any disputes.

At present, in order to complete a transfer of property, a seller is required to execute a sale deed, which needed to be duly registered in the office of registrar or sub-registrar. The decision would affect the availability of saleable property leading to a sharp rise in the free-hold property prices in the capital.

In an order issue to the registrar and sub-registrar, the divisional commissioner of Delhi asked them to implement the Supreme Court order dated 11October, 2011, banning any transfer of property on GPA or on sale agreement with retrospective effect from the date of issue of the order.

According to the Supreme Court order, the property transaction on GPA or on sale agreement, could not be relied upon or made the basis for mutation in municipal or revenue records.

As the government did not enforce the Supreme Court order between the date of the order on 11 October 2011 and 27 April 2012, when the divisional commissioner of Delhi government finally issued the order for a ban on transfer of property through GPA or through sale deeds, a number of transactions had taken place in the city on GPA and SA that would now face problems.

Under the DC's order, all the transactions that took place during the intervening period would be rendered null and void, meaning the property would remain on the seller's name and both the parties would need to initiate the process of transfer of property through a clear sale again.