A Power of Attorney is given to a relative to sell farmland in Punjab. POA sells 4 acres. On the Sale deed POA enters only the lower Sarkari rate or Circle rate of 50 Lakh INR to save the buyer a large amount of Stamp Duty Tax. POA then sells the farmland at the much higher market price or bazaar price which may be 100 to 150 Lakh rupees. The POA then sends owner a copy of the Sale Deed stating that he sold the land for only 50 Lakh Rupees and sends the owner this 50 Lakh Rupees. The POA steals between 50 to 100 Lakh INR from the owner of the land. The POA refuses to tell the owner the real or actual he had sold the land for and refuses to reply to the owners messages and phone calls. The POA buys a very expensive car worth over 10 Lakh Rupees with the money he had stolen from the owner. Can the Sale deed be cancelled due to fraud even though all the laws were complied with and if the POA paid the owner what was written on the Sarkari rate Sale deed? Will the Punjab Revenue Department investigate or not? Will the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner investigate? Will the Indian Tax Department investigate or not? How can you find out the real price the land was sold for if the buyer and seller are conspiring and working together?
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1) you have to prove that sum of 150 lakhs was received by POA holder
2) sale deed would not be cancelled . you have to recover excess amount from POA
3) file complaint with commissioner anti evasion income tax
4) if money was paid in cash there is no evidence to prove allegations made by you
Instead of going to various revenue authorities you should file a suit against the poa to recover the excess sale price that he received from the buyer by doing an underhand cash deal
The buyer can be joined as a party defendant too
You can claim Two reliefs in the alternative - one for cancelation of sale deed and restoring the property to you and second to claim the excess money from the poa - these two reliefs can be claimed without prejudice to each other
However since you would claiming recovery of possession you will have to pay court fee on market value of the property and also have to pay court fee on the excess money sought to be recovered , subject to max court fee that can be charged in your state
In my opinion the POA has paid the owner the sale consideration amount as per the registered sale deed, hence the owner's claim for having sold the property at a higher value, without any evidence but only on a presumption or imaginary thought will not be legally maintainable.
If the sale of property was executed at the government rate then it cannot be considered as a deceitful act hence the revenue department may not entertain any such complaint.
Without documentary evidence the commissioner of police also may not entertain any complaint .
If there is proof to prove that the POA agent has accumulated Auden wealth and not paid taxes then a complaint for tax evasion can be made with documentary evidences to prove the allegations.
Unless you have clinching evidence to establish your allegations your efforts in this regard will be a futile exercise.
The amount of fraud is huge. Admitted practice is, the price land mentioned in the sale deed is always on the lower side to save on stamp duty. The difference between government rate and commercial is many times more than 100 to 300 per cent. This is clear case of criminal breach of trust by the POA in collusion with purchaser of property. File criminal complaint against both in the Court of Magistrate under Section 316 of BNS, 2023 for dishonest misappropriation of property by both. You were defrauded for at least 50L per acre. With the proof of criminal complaint file a civil suit for cancellation of sale deed and declaration against both POA as defendant No. 1 and purchaser as defendant No.2. misappropriation and be proved by sudden influx of cash to the POA.
Yes it may be investigated if there is some foul play then strict action can be taken
If a Power of Attorney (POA) sells farmland in Punjab at a higher market price but records only the lower Sarkari rate in the sale deed to save stamp duty for the buyer and withholds the additional proceeds from the owner, this constitutes fraud. The sale deed can be challenged and potentially cancelled under Section 31 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, if fraud is proven. A criminal complaint can be filed against the POA under Sections 406 (Criminal Breach of Trust) and 420 (Cheating) of the IPC. The Punjab Revenue Department or Deputy Commissioner can be approached for an administrative inquiry, although such investigations may require a formal court directive. Reporting the discrepancy to the Income Tax Department may also prompt an investigation into the financial irregularities. To ascertain the actual sale price, banking records, witness testimony, and the POA's sudden acquisition of assets can serve as evidence. Filing a civil suit for cancellation of the sale deed and recovery of the concealed amount is strongly advised.
Thanks and Regards,
Advocate Aman Verma, Legal Corridor
