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 transfer of 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 power of attorney when the principal resides outside India, merely validates the instrument for presenting a document for registration alone.
The Court added that Section 33 does not exempt that power of attorney from being compulsorily registered if it comes within the list of compulsorily registrable documents, specified under Section 17(1)(g) of the Registration Act.
