The Kerala High Court, in Inspector General of Registration and Anr. v. Muhammed and Connected Matter (2022), has held that a power of attorney (PoA) executed by a person residing abroad in favour of a person in India relating to an immovable property, must be compulsorily registered under Section 17(1)(g) of the Registration Act, 1908, before using it to sell the property in India.
The High Court clarified that the special procedure under Section 33 of the Registration Act for authenticating powers of attorney when the principal resides outside India, merely validates the instrument for presenting a document for registration.
The Court added that Section 33 does not exempt that power of attorney from being compulsorily registered if it falls under the ambit of compulsorily registrable documents defined by Section 17(1)(g) of the Act.
