Fake General Power of Attorney

Today's topic is a fake general power of attorney: a forged general power of attorney, a special power of attorney, fabrication, the result of impersonation, and what relationship and responsibility exist between principal and agent. I will shed light on all of this. First, let me tell you which laws deal with this, note these down: 1. Powers of Attorney Act 1882. 2. Registration Act 1908. 3. Stamp Act 1899.

Now some people create a fake general power of attorney. A fake general power of attorney gets formally registered through a local commission, ends up on record, and the buyer has no idea whether this general power of attorney was genuinely and properly executed, or whether it is a forged, fabricated, and fraudulent document. First, let me tell you what the remedy is. I have already given a lecture about power of attorney, that a person who, for whatever reason, whether a woman or a man, cannot personally go and look after matters regarding their property, cannot bring those matters to completion, appoints either a special attorney or a general attorney to complete and look after these matters.

Now, a person who wants to buy a property, whether commercial, residential, non-residential, or agricultural, any kind of property owned by A, where A has appointed B as general attorney, the buyer's very first task is to verify that the principal granting this power of attorney is alive, to fully satisfy himself that he is alive. Because the person who granted the power of attorney may be abroad, may be ill, may be elderly, may have business commitments, may be a woman in purdah, any number of circumstances are possible. 1. First, confirm that he is alive. 2. Ask him: did you appoint such-and-such person as general attorney, or as special attorney, are these documents genuine or fake? It's possible, to protect himself, or because he too is part of the group, part of this fraud, he might verbally tell you, yes, sir, I did give this general power of attorney. Now not everyone can get a thumbprint formally verified. But there is a remedy for this, a solution for this matter, and that solution is this: whenever you're entering into any agreement, a sale agreement, regarding certified property, regarding a specific property, related to any property, go to that person yourself, get his signature and thumbprint too, if he is accessible to you. If he is not accessible to you, if he is abroad, then the best solution is to correspond with him in writing, asking, is this general power of attorney, made in your name, genuine or not? Email him, write him a letter, so that he can respond. You're going to spend lakhs, crores of rupees, you're buying property for the ease of your life, not to be humiliated and disgraced in courts and offices, so take this trouble if you are buying any property through a general power of attorney. If a general power of attorney is proven to be fake, fabricated, forged, or fraudulent, then not only will you lose the property you purchased, not only will you have thrown your money away, but if criminal proceedings are initiated against them, you will also have to face the consequences. In the end you will be treated as part and parcel of that fraudster who created that fake general power of attorney. It will be assumed you are part of his group, that you all together created a fake general power of attorney and got that property transferred into your name. So this precaution, this care, is very necessary. If you are very powerful, well-connected, to investigate any fake, fabricated, forged, fraudulent general power of attorney, if this document is proven fake before purchase, then you should take action against him, saying he was trying to sell me this land on the basis of a false document, I escaped because I took these precautions, and it has now been established that this is a fake and fabricated document, and through it he was trying to seize such-and-such person's land. Now, God forbid, if you unknowingly buy some property through a fake, forged general power of attorney, another charge can be brought against you. The principal's signatures and thumbprint are, of course, not genuine, obviously the signatures and thumbprint are forged, belong to someone else, but the law says that ultimately those people will be considered to include you too, because you are the one who benefited from this general power of attorney, so you too will be charged with impersonation, that you presented yourself as if related to the principal and created this document. So be very careful, this kind of fraud is very common these days when buying property through a general power of attorney, keep all this in mind. If you keep this in mind, you protect yourself, you save your money, you save your reputation, you save your time, and most importantly, you avoid at least some legal proceedings.

In the next lecture I will tell you about gifting through a general power of attorney, a hiba, a gift, of any immovable property, through a general power of attorney, because countless frauds are happening at this exact point, and I will tell you not only whether a hiba, a gift, can be done through a general power of attorney or not, and if it can, under what circumstances, I will also share relevant judgments of the superior courts with you, and I hope that will prove beneficial for you.