Signed carefully, a power of attorney is a convenience. Signed carelessly, it hands someone the keys to your assets. And one belief about it has cost people their property outright: that you can sell a flat through a general power of attorney. You cannot, and the Supreme Court closed that door years ago.
A power of attorney lets a principal authorise an agent to act for them — a General POA broadly, a Special POA for one defined task — and a POA dealing with immovable property should be registered.
The bottom line
Two kinds: a General POA grants broad powers across many matters. A Special POA grants authority for a single task, which is why it is the safer default.
What it cannot do: transfer property. Suraj Lamp (2011) held that GPA sales do not convey title. Only a registered sale deed does.
How it ends: by revocation at any time, unless irrevocable and coupled with an interest, and automatically on the principal's death or incapacity unless drafted to be durable.
What a power of attorney is
A power of attorney is a document by which one person, the principal or donor, authorises another — the agent, attorney-holder or donee — to act on their behalf in specified matters.
Within the scope granted, the agent's acts bind the principal as though the principal had done them personally. And the scope is exactly whatever the document says it is, which is why precise drafting matters more here than in almost any other everyday instrument.
General and Special
- General Power of Attorney. Broad authority across a range of matters: managing property, operating accounts, dealing with authorities, handling legal matters. Powerful, and correspondingly dangerous in the wrong hands.
- Special Power of Attorney. Authority for a single defined task — registering one particular sale deed, representing you in one court case. Limited scope, limited risk.
A separate question cuts across both. A durable POA is drafted to survive the principal's later incapacity, which is what makes it useful for an elderly parent. An ordinary one lapses the moment the principal becomes incapable, which is often precisely when it was needed.
When people use one
An NRI authorising a relative to manage or let property in India. An elderly person authorising a trusted family member to handle banking and bills. A buyer or seller authorising someone to complete a registration they cannot attend. A business owner authorising a manager to sign specific documents. A litigant authorising representation.
The common thread is acting on someone's behalf when they cannot act themselves — not, despite the widespread practice, transferring what they own.
A GPA is not a sale
This is the most important paragraph here. For years people bought and sold property through general powers of attorney, to avoid stamp duty and registration.
In Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana (2011) the Supreme Court ended it, holding that a GPA, an agreement to sell, or a will conveys no ownership of immovable property. Title passes only through a registered sale deed with proper stamp duty paid.
A GPA sale therefore gives you possession and a future dispute. If you are buying, insist on a registered conveyance, and treat a GPA offered as proof of title as a reason to leave.
Drafting one safely
A safe POA is specific and bounded.
- Name the principal and the agent clearly, with identification.
- Define the powers precisely. List what the agent can do and what they cannot. Avoid open-ended "all my affairs" language unless you genuinely mean it.
- State the purpose and duration, and whether it is durable.
- Limit the financial powers — a cap on amounts, or an express bar on selling assets.
- Execute it properly: signed by the principal, with witnesses, on appropriate stamp paper.
- For an NRI, a POA executed abroad must be notarised or apostilled, or attested at the Indian mission, and for property matters adjudicated and stamped in India within the prescribed time.
The narrower the drafting, the smaller the surface area for something to go wrong.
Registration and stamping
A POA has to be stamped under your state's stamp law. One authorising dealings in immovable property should also be registered at the sub-registrar's office.
Registration creates an official record, and in practice it is what banks, registries and authorities will want to see before letting the agent do anything with property. A general POA that does not touch real estate may be notarised instead — but for anything involving property, register it.
Revoking one
A principal can revoke a POA at any time, unless it is expressly irrevocable and coupled with an interest. Do it by a written deed of revocation, registered if the original was, with notice to the agent and to anyone who has dealt with them.
A POA also ends automatically on the principal's death or insolvency, and on incapacity where it is not durable.
The step people skip is the notification. Tell the banks and the registries. An agent's old authority can go on being honoured by anyone who never heard it was withdrawn.
A worked example
An NRI wants her brother to rent out and manage her Mumbai flat while she is abroad.
Rather than a sweeping GPA, she executes a Special POA authorising him to sign lease agreements up to a set rent, collect rent into a specified account, pay property tax and society dues, and represent her before the housing society. It expressly excludes any power to sell, mortgage or gift the flat.
It is notarised and attested at the Indian consulate, then stamped and registered in India.
He can manage the property completely. He can never dispose of it. That gap between the two is the whole design.
Common mistakes
- Treating a GPA as a property sale. It conveys no title.
- Granting open-ended powers when a defined list would do.
- Not registering a POA that deals with property.
- Forgetting to exclude the powers to sell and mortgage when all you wanted was management.
- Revoking informally. Notify the banks and registries, or the old authority keeps working.
Frequently asked questions
Can property be sold through a power of attorney? No. Following Suraj Lamp, a GPA does not transfer ownership. Title passes only through a registered sale deed.
What is the difference between a General and a Special POA? A General POA grants broad powers across many matters. A Special POA grants authority for one specific task, which is safer.
Does a power of attorney need to be registered? One dealing with immovable property should be. Others may be notarised, though registration adds security.
Can I cancel a power of attorney? Yes, generally at any time, through a deed of revocation with notice to the agent and the relevant parties, unless it is irrevocable and coupled with an interest.
Does a POA end when the principal dies? Yes. It ends on death or incapacity unless it was specifically drafted to be durable.
Can an agent appoint someone else? Only where the document allows it. If you do not want the authority delegated onward, say so in the drafting.