In Brief
In this property dispute, a plaintiff sued to cancel a sale deed, claiming the defendant had prepared a forged power of attorney in her name to sell the property. The High Court, finding the plaintiff to be an illiterate, pardanasheen (secluded) woman, shifted the burden to the defendant to prove the power of attorney was genuine. The Supreme Court held that the standard burden of proof rests on the party attacking a document's validity, not on its beneficiary. Without explicit pleading of her special status and applicable statutory protection, the plaintiff's status did not justify reversing the normal burden. The Court set aside the High Court's judgment and allowed the appeal."
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