In Brief
The Supreme Court (divided 1:1) addressed whether a sale deed executed by an attorney through a power of attorney can be challenged if the power of attorney was not produced in court. The case involved a property in Tripura where the original owner executed a power of attorney in favour of Dhirendra Chandra Saha (a tenant) to sell the land as repayment of a loan. The attorney then executed a sale deed in his own favour, and subsequently in favour of his wife. When the defendants contested the title, a divided bench disagreed: Justice M.R. Shah held the suit should be dismissed as the power of attorney was not produced and statutory requirements were not met; Justice B.V. Nagarathna held the registered sale deed itself, with proper endorsements, was valid proof, and the burden was on defendants to rebut the presumption—which they failed to do. The appeal was allowed (by J. Shah's vote as the first judge).
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