Those who hold ‘General Power of Attorney’ henceforth need not append the ‘Life Certificate’ of those who granted the power while registering documents, with the Madras High Court setting aside a circular of the Inspector-General of Registration (IGR).
Justice S. Vaidyanathan passed the order on a writ petition by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI, Tamil Nadu), which challenged the February 2, 2013 circular.
By the communication, the IGR had said the ‘Life Certificate’ of the principal who granted the general power attested by a registered medical officer or Central/State A Grade Officer with a photo should be appended along with the document which was presented for registration based on ‘Power of Attorney’ on or after February 1, 2013.
The government said the circular had been issued with the object that no document based on ‘Power of Attorney’ should be registered where the principal had died. Only in order to ascertain whether the person who gave the power was alive, the circular was issued.
The association, represented by its president, N. Nandakumar, said if the procedure as per the circular was to be followed, power agents should practically approach the principal each time the documents were presented for registration to get the life certificate. Those who granted the power insisted on additional consideration.
