For Indians living abroad, a property in India is often a family home, an investment, or land inherited from parents. Disputes are common: a tenant who will not leave, a relative who has taken possession, a sale made on forged papers. Most of these cases can be run without the owner travelling to India for each step.
A power of attorney made abroad
A power of attorney lets a trusted person, or the lawyers, act in India. Made abroad, it is usually signed before a notary and apostilled in countries that are party to the Hague Apostille Convention, or attested at the Indian embassy or consulate. Once received in India, it has to be stamped according to the state’s stamp law, generally within three months of receipt.
The power should be specific: which property, which proceedings, whether the attorney can sign pleadings, give evidence about matters within their own knowledge, settle, or receive money.
Hearings and evidence
Courts increasingly hear parties and record evidence by video conference. The owner’s own evidence can often be given this way, so that a trip to India, if needed at all, is planned for one or two decisive dates.
The remedies
- Recent dispossession Under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, a person dispossessed without due process can sue to recover possession within six months, without having to prove title.
- Title and possession A regular suit for declaration and possession, with an interim injunction to stop sale or construction.
- Partition Division of family property among heirs and co-owners.
- Tenants Eviction and arrears under the state’s rent law or the tenancy agreement.
- Fraud and trespass A criminal complaint alongside the civil case, where documents are forged or the property is taken by force.
Our International page explains how we work with clients abroad, and our civil and property practice conducts these cases in Gurugram, Delhi and the High Courts.
This article gives general information on the law as it stood when it was written. It is not legal advice; every matter turns on its own facts.