Property Title Passes Only by Registered Sale Deed, Not GPA/Will: SC

Ramesh Chand (D) THR. LRS. Vs Suresh Chand And Anr. (Supreme Court of India)

No Title Without Sale Deed – SC Rejects GPA/Will Based Claim to Family Property- Only Registered Sale Deed Transfers Ownership – Suraj Lamp Applied Again

Background

The case arose out of a long-standing family dispute regarding property at Delhi, originally owned by late Shri Kundan Lal. Plaintiff (Suresh Chand): Claimed ownership through documents dated 16.05.1996 – Agreement to Sell, GPA, Affidavit, Receipt & a registered Will. He alleged his brother Ramesh Chand (Defendant No.1) was only a licensee/trespasser, and further that he wrongfully sold half the property to Defendant No.2. Defendant (Ramesh Chand): Claimed oral transfer by father in 1973 & continuous possession since then. Contended plaintiff’s documents were invalid, Will not proved, and plaintiff himself earlier admitted father’s ownership in earlier litigation.

Trial Court decreed the suit in plaintiff’s favour, and Delhi HC in 2012 upheld this decree, relying on Asha M. Jain v. Canara Bank (since overruled in Suraj Lamp).

Supreme Court’s Observations:

Agreement to Sell / GPA / Affidavit / Receipt

• Do not create ownership rights under Section 54 TPA.
• At best, give a right to seek specific performance.
• Following Suraj Lamp (2012) 1 SCC 656, GPA sales & related documents are not valid transfers.

Power of Attorney

• Merely an agency arrangement, revocable.
• Does not amount to conveyance or transfer of ownership.

Will

• To be valid, a Will must comply with Section 63 Succession Act & Section 68 Evidence Act (attestation by two witnesses & proof by at least one).
• No attesting witness examined; exclusion of three out of four children created suspicious circumstances.
• Registered Will alone not enough – hence, Will not validly proved.

Doctrine of Part Performance (Section 53A TPA)

• Protection applies only if transferee is in possession.
• Plaintiff had himself sought possession → clearly not in possession. Hence, Section 53A not available.

Succession

• Since documents failed to establish valid transfer, property devolved on all Class-I legal heirs after Kundan Lal’s death in 1997.

Defendant No. 2 (Bona Fide Purchaser)

• Court protected his rights to the extent of Ramesh Chand’s share, in line with its earlier interim orders.

Decision

• SC allowed the appeal, set aside the Delhi HC judgment, and dismissed plaintiff’s suit.
• Held that documents like GPA, Agreement to Sell, Affidavit, Receipt or an unproven Will cannot confer valid title.
• The suit property devolved upon all legal heirs by succession.
• Defendant No. 2’s purchase rights protected to the extent of Defendant No. 1’s share.

This judgment reinforces the principle laid down in Suraj Lamp:

• GPA sales, Agreements to Sell, affidavits & receipts are not valid conveyances.
• Will must be strictly proved with attesting witness testimony.
• Without a registered sale deed, ownership does not transfer.
• In such cases, property devolves upon legal heirs by succession, not by unregistered or improperly proved documents.

FULL TEXT OF THE SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT/ORDER