The Supreme Court has once again drawn a sharp line in the sand on property transfers: no registered sale deed, no ownership.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Sandeep Mehta overturned a Delhi High Court ruling that had allowed possession and declaration of rights in favour of a plaintiff who relied on documents such as an agreement to sell, General Power of Attorney (GPA), affidavit, receipt, and a Will—without a registered sale deed.
The dispute had its roots in a family quarrel. The plaintiff claimed he “purchased” the property from his father back in 1996 through these papers. His brother, however, insisted that the property had been gifted to him orally in the 1970s and challenged the plaintiff’s documents as worthless.
Both the trial court and the High Court sided with the plaintiff. But the country’s highest court was unambiguous: paperwork that falls short of a registered conveyance deed cannot magically create ownership.
Justice Kumar, writing for the bench, underlined the difference:
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A sale deed is a transfer of ownership, creating legal title.
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An agreement to sell is just a promise, a contract to execute a future sale deed. At best, it gives the buyer the right to seek specific performance if the seller refuses to follow through.
On the GPA issue, the Court dismissed the idea that a power of attorney could substitute for a sale. “A power of attorney is not a sale,” the judgment stressed. It merely allows the holder to manage or act on behalf of the property owner—like renting it out or mortgaging it—but it does not transfer ownership.
The ruling echoes earlier judicial pronouncements that had cautioned against using GPA sales as backdoor methods of property transfer. With this reaffirmation, the Court made it clear: ownership of immovable property flows only through a registered sale deed, and nothing less.
