If the POA produced by the seller satisfies these conditions then you should make it a precondition of purchase that he will approach and secure from the DDA the conversion of land tenure from leasehold to freehold prior to conclusion of transaction and if necessary these conversion charges could be reimbursed by you. Once the property is freehold and stands duly transferred in the subsisting POA holder's name, he will be able to transfer the title to the property through execution of a deed of conveyance before the registrar in Delhi.

You should also check that the POA holder has been paying the property taxes in his own name, for example, the property stands mutated in his name in the records of the NDMC and MCD. If not, ask him to get this done and produce a no dues certificate.

Also check in whose name the electricity and water meters stand. If they continue to be in the names of the original allottee then ask the POA holder to initiate action to transfer them in his own name also.

The POA holder's assertion that he is the deemed owner of the property under the Law of Adverse Possession by virtue of his having been in possession of the premises for the past 10 years is also not tenable because in the case of property leased by the government or a quasi-governmental authority, the ownership continues to vest in the government till such time as the lessor either agrees to transfer the lease hold rights to the new owner or grants a change in land use from lease hold to freehold.

Furthermore, the period of uninterrupted possession without payment of any rent whether it be annual rent or lease/ground rent or licence fee by whatsoever name called should be at least 30 years. This period in respect of privately owned lands is 12 years.

Since the issue of ownership and the right of a POA holder to sell the property needs a very careful examination. I would suggest that you seek legal opinion in the matter before entering into any purchase commitment.

I am an NRI based in London and am interested in purchasing a house in India. With the help of my relations I have been able to identify a suitable property in Pune for which an initial booking advance has also been paid through a cheque drawn on my NRO account. While I do not perceive problems with regard to future payments, I am told that it would be absolutely necessary for me to visit India at the time of execution of Conveyance Deed confirming sale of property to me. As I am running my business single-handed, it is impossible for me to travel to India for this purpose.

But on the other hand, I have implicit faith in my father's ability to handle this transaction on my behalf. Please advise as to how I should proceed in the matter without having to resort to seeking the registration of property on offer in my father's name.
-- G P S Mann, London

There are two options available to you. You can either ask the seller to execute a poll deed in your favour in which case the conveyance deed will be unilaterally signed by the sellers and you will be identified with a photograph by your attorney who could either be a solicitor retained by you or else a relation who may be assigned specific powers to represent you at the time of execution of the sale deed and receive the same in due course on your behalf.

Alternatively, you can execute a General Power of Attorney in favour of your father on plain paper at the Indian consulate in London in which you will be identified through your passport and send the same to him in India. The POA should specifically authorise your father to execute the sale deed on your behalf and also undertake all other deeds and acts to have the property mutated in the records of the Municipal Corporation of Pune on your behalf and also seek transfer of electricity and water meters in your name and to perform all other acts and deeds on your behalf that are incidental to your acquiring the property such as renting etc.

Your father upon receipt of the Power of Attorney will present the same to the collector of stamps of his district for re-endorsement upon payment of requisite stamp duties in India within 120 days of the execution of this document by you in New York. Once this is done he will be able to represent you in all respects in so far as the proposed property is concerned without having to get financially or legally involved other than as your duly authorised attorney.

G P Khungar is a real estate consultant and a former director (corporate affairs) of Ansals Ltd.
Readers are requested to send in their queries to The Associate Editor, Financial Express, 198/2/1, Fortune Towers, Ramesh Market, East of Kailash, New Delhi-110 065. Please mark `Ground Rules' clearly on the envelope.