In Janki Vashdeo Bhojwani and Another v. Indusind Bank Ltd. and Others [AIR 2005 SC 439], the Supreme Court held that a Power of Attorney holder cannot depose for the principal in respect of acts done by the principal and not by him. He cannot depose in respect of matters of which the principal alone has personal knowledge, and in respect of which the principal is entitled to be cross-examined.
Order 3 Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) empower the holder of a power of attorney to “act” on behalf of the principal.
The Court clarified that the term “acts” in the rule would not include deposing in place of the principal. The word “acts” employed in Order 3 Rules 1 and 2 CPC is confined only to acts done by the power-of-attorney holder in exercise of the power granted by the instrument.
