Seller not willing to give old deeds...
Pran
(Querist) 01 February 2014
This query is : Resolved
Respected Sir/Madam,
My uncle has purchased a house in West Bengal through registered sale deed on January, 2013. After registration he asked the seller to give him the old deeds (of that house property), but the seller refused and gave an excuse that those deeds were his ancestral property and he will not part with them.
My uncle and his lawyer tried to explain the seller that, it is customary for a seller to transfer the old deeds of a property to the new buyer, when the property gets sold, but to no avail. He started misbehaving and quarrelling. We left the matter there, and moved on.
Meanwhile, my uncle also did the mutation of that property in his name.
After, all these months recently my uncle has started fearing that since the seller has retained the old deeds of that property, he or his successors may do some mischief such as trying to sell the property again or something like that.
My question is, after a new sale deed has been created and has also been registered, what importance does the old deeds of that particular property has at this moment ?
Is the seller able to perform any kind mischievous act(s) with those old deeds ?
Please, reply…
Thanks in advance.
Guest
(Expert) 01 February 2014
Basing on the Saledeed references obtain the copy of parent documents from the Registrar Office and take a Legal Opinion.Basing on it serve the seller a Legal notice for the originals.You could also sue him for Breach Of Trust.Consult a good Lawyer
S.QAISAR ALI ADV.
(Expert) 01 February 2014
as u have mentioned sale deed has been registered and consequently property has been mutated in the name of buyer in govt. records,hence to get old deeds of property up to the extent of quarrel is not wise,u should some local lawyer and give him legal notice for the purpose. though u have not much risk of mischief.
malipeddi jaggarao
(Expert) 02 February 2014
If the old deeds are not handed over the seller can play mischief by misrepresenting third party and rise money on it.
He can even create equitable mortgage of the property as in the case of equitable mortgage mere deposit of title deeds with intention to secure some debt is enough.
First of all verify whether these original old documents are with the seller at the time of registering the property to your uncle. If the documents are with the seller only, any mischief after the sale is registered, will not create a problem to your uncle, but it will be a nuisance value. But if the documents are not with the seller, he might have already dealt with them and rise money, your uncle's title is defective and subject to satisfaction of earlier transaction.
The best course is to obtain certified copies of all the link documents and 30 years non-encumbrance certificate. YOu will come to know the flow of title.
Serve a legal notice on the seller demanding link documents.
Pran
(Querist) 02 February 2014
Respected Experts,
My uncle has already obtained the ‘Certified copies’ of those old deeds from the local sub-registrar office.
He then consulted another lawyer about his assumed fear. That lawyer told the same thing which the previous lawyer said (the one who helped my uncle during the property registration process) and which also coincides with the view of Mr. Syed Qaisar.
He said to my uncle that, since the property has already been mutated in the buyers (i.e. my uncle’s) name in the government records it means two things; (1) The government has accepted the buyer as the new and original owner of that property; (2) Even if a new equitable mortgage gets created, then on the presentation of the mutation document and the new registered sale deed, the previous transaction automatically becomes valid.
The lawyer also told that each and every prospective buyer should make a proper searching in the D.L.R.O office before purchasing a particular property, and if the seller tries to resell it then the prospective buyer will find the name of my uncle in the searching report from government records and he will never buy it.
Please, tell me whether the above points are true or not ?
And, since my uncle has only fear about what might happen, hence based only upon future possibilities can I serve a legal notice or sue for breach of trust ?
Rajendra K Goyal
(Expert) 02 February 2014
As advised by the expert malipeddi jaggarao ji, trouble can be there in case the property was equitable mortgaged already.
There is going to be no difference whether any legal notice is sent or not at present. Let the counter claim arise, if any, be defended on merit.
Pran
(Querist) 03 February 2014
Respected Expert,
As I have already stated that my uncle is very sure that those deeds are still with the seller, hence it has not been equitably mortgaged yet, and all his fears are assumed.
Secondly, if the seller tries to perform equitable mortgage with those old deeds, then the payer (or the new prospective buyer) should perform a thorough search on the ownership of the land or not ? before involving in equitable mortgage.
Please, clarify...
malipeddi jaggarao
(Expert) 03 February 2014
If you are sure that these original old documents are still in possession of the seller and your uncle obtained all certified copies of these documents, the possibility of committing fraud or creating charge by earlier owner is remote. Any charge that is created after registration of property in favour of uncle, is not valid. However, it will be a nuisance value.
However, one can not understand as to why the earlier owner is not willing to part with these documents once he has sold away the property.
ajay sethi
(Expert) 03 February 2014
a prudent man would always take search before granting loan against original documents .if on taking search he finds your father nae as owner he wont sanction loan
as advised by experts issue legal notice to seller to hand over all originals .
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 04 February 2014
You have rightly been advised so no more to add.
T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate
(Expert) 05 February 2014
It is always better to obtain thee previous original deeds pertaining to the purchased property to avoid any litigation in the future.
