# JUGRAJ SINGH & ANR v. JASWANT SINGH & ORS

- **Citation:** [1971] 1 S.C.R. 38
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1970-03-16
- **Bench:** M. HlDAYATULLAH, A. N- Ray, I. D. Dua
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/jugraj-singh-anr-v-jaswant-singh-ors-5057
- **Pages:** 8

## Headnote

Power of Attorney-Execution by Indian abroad-Subsequent power
;ratifying defects-Effect of--lf relates back.
Declaration-Suit for declaration, but no prayers either for cancel/a.
!lion of order or injunction-Suit hh by s. 42, Specified Rilief Act-Mor-.
gagor not party-Suit if proper/¥ framed-Costs-A ward of.
V the son of the mortgagor executed a power of attorney in California
(U.S.A.) authorising S to sell the property and to execute the sale deed
and present it for registration. S executed the sale deed in favour of the
respondents, who applied for the redemption of the mortgage under s. 9
.of the Punjab Redemption of Mortgages Act, 1913. The Collector ordered
the redemption.
The appellants-the sons of the mortgagees filed a suit
suit under s. 12 of the Act praying for a declaration that the respondents
were neither owners nor they had any right of redemption. as per the
orders of the Collector which was illegal and the appellants were not
bound by it. V was not party to this suit.
During the pendency of the
suit V executed a fresh power . of attorney in California in favour of S,
stating that first one was defective and was being ratified and further that
the act of S will be that of V, which included not only the making of
the document but also the presentations.
The second power of attorney
was p:oduoed in the suit, and the suit was wsmissed.
Appeal in the
District Court and a second appeal filed in the High Court failed. Dismiss·
ing the appeal, this Court,
HELD : The first power of attorney was not authenticated as required
by s. 33 of the Indian Registration Act which in the case of an Indian
residing abroad, requires that the document should be authenticated by
a Notary Public.
The document only bore the signature of a witness
without anything to show that he was a Notary Public.
Jn any event
there was no authentication by the Notary Public (if he was one) in
the manner which the law would consider adequate. The second power
of attorney however _did show that it was executed before a proper Notary
Public who complied with the laws of California and authenticated the
document as r~quired by that law, and was also duly authenticated in
accordance with our laws.
Th~ only complaint was that the Notary Pub·
lie did not say in his endorsement that V had been identified to his satisfaction.
But that flows from the fact that he endorsed on the document
that it had been subscribed and sworn before him.
There is a presumption of regularity of official acts and he must have satisfied himself in
the dischalr&e of his duties that the person who was executing it was the
proper person.
This made the second power of atto:ney valid and effective both under s. 85 of the Indian Evidence Act and s. 33 of the Indian
Registration Act. [42 G--43 CJ
The second power of attorney was a valid decum~nt and it au~ho
rised S to execute the document -as well as to present it for registration.
This being a document ratifying a former inconclusive act related back
38
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JUGRAJ v. JASWANT (Hidayatullah, C.J·)
39
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to the time when the first document was made and cured the illegality
in the Presentation for registration which had taken place.
B
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Now the Jaw is quite clear that ratification relates back to the original
act provided there is a disclosed principal. [43 E-F]
!
Keighly Maxsted & Co. v. Durant; [1901] A.C. 241 and Wilson v.
Iwnman, 1843 6 M & G 242, relied-on.
Kattie Keran & Ors. v. I::achmi Prasad Sinha & Ors. 58 I.A. 58, held
inapplicable.
·
The appellants were not entitled to the declaration prayed for. They
neither asked for the cancellation of the order of the Collector nor for
any injunction, two of the reliefs which they were entitled to ask in the
case in addition to the declaration.
Such a suit was hit by s. 42 of the
Specific Relief Act and they were to be denied the declaration without
these specified reliefs.
Indeed they had only to ask for the setting aside
of the order.
The suit was not properly framed.
The app

## Text

JUGRAJ SINGH & ANR.
v.
JASWANT SINGH & ORS.
March 16, 1970
[M. HlDAYATULLAH, C.J., A. N- RAY AND I. D. DUA, JJ.]
Power of Attorney-Execution by Indian abroad-Subsequent power
;ratifying defects-Effect of--lf relates back.
Declaration-Suit for declaration, but no prayers either for cancel/a.
!lion of order or injunction-Suit hh by s. 42, Specified Rilief Act-Mor-.
gagor not party-Suit if proper/¥ framed-Costs-A ward of.
V the son of the mortgagor executed a power of attorney in California
(U.S.A.) authorising S to sell the property and to execute the sale deed
and present it for registration. S executed the sale deed in favour of the
respondents, who applied for the redemption of the mortgage under s. 9
.of the Punjab Redemption of Mortgages Act, 1913. The Collector ordered
the redemption.
The appellants-the sons of the mortgagees filed a suit
suit under s. 12 of the Act praying for a declaration that the respondents
were neither owners nor they had any right of redemption. as per the
orders of the Collector which was illegal and the appellants were not
bound by it. V was not party to this suit.
During the pendency of the
suit V executed a fresh power . of attorney in California in favour of S,
stating that first one was defective and was being ratified and further that
the act of S will be that of V, which included not only the making of
the document but also the presentations.
The second power of attorney
was p:oduoed in the suit, and the suit was wsmissed.
Appeal in the
District Court and a second appeal filed in the High Court failed. Dismiss·
ing the appeal, this Court,
HELD : The first power of attorney was not authenticated as required
by s. 33 of the Indian Registration Act which in the case of an Indian
residing abroad, requires that the document should be authenticated by
a Notary Public.
The document only bore the signature of a witness
without anything to show that he was a Notary Public.
Jn any event
there was no authentication by the Notary Public (if he was one) in
the manner which the law would consider adequate. The second power
of attorney however _did show that it was executed before a proper Notary
Public who complied with the laws of California and authenticated the
document as r~quired by that law, and was also duly authenticated in
accordance with our laws.
Th~ only complaint was that the Notary Pub·
lie did not say in his endorsement that V had been identified to his satisfaction.
But that flows from the fact that he endorsed on the document
that it had been subscribed and sworn before him.
There is a presumption of regularity of official acts and he must have satisfied himself in
the dischalr&e of his duties that the person who was executing it was the
proper person.
This made the second power of atto:ney valid and effective both under s. 85 of the Indian Evidence Act and s. 33 of the Indian
Registration Act. [42 G--43 CJ
The second power of attorney was a valid decum~nt and it au~ho
rised S to execute the document -as well as to present it for registration.
This being a document ratifying a former inconclusive act related back
38
A
B
c
D
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JUGRAJ v. JASWANT (Hidayatullah, C.J·)
39
A
to the time when the first document was made and cured the illegality
in the Presentation for registration which had taken place.
B
c
D
Now the Jaw is quite clear that ratification relates back to the original
act provided there is a disclosed principal. [43 E-F]
!
Keighly Maxsted & Co. v. Durant; [1901] A.C. 241 and Wilson v.
Iwnman, 1843 6 M & G 242, relied-on.
Kattie Keran & Ors. v. I::achmi Prasad Sinha & Ors. 58 I.A. 58, held
inapplicable.
·
The appellants were not entitled to the declaration prayed for. They
neither asked for the cancellation of the order of the Collector nor for
any injunction, two of the reliefs which they were entitled to ask in the
case in addition to the declaration.
Such a suit was hit by s. 42 of the
Specific Relief Act and they were to be denied the declaration without
these specified reliefs.
Indeed they had only to ask for the setting aside
of the order.
The suit was not properly framed.
The appellants as plaintilis in
the C'ase joined the transferees from V but made no attempt to join V,
the son of the original mortgagor.
The suit could be only properly
framed with all the parties before the Court.
Even if V was not a
necessacy party, he was at least a proper party. If he had been brought
before the court. it could have kno\vn from him whether he had J?;iven
the authority to execute the document and he could have adopted the
act of S by ratifying it again.
Normally costs should follow the event
and it is not the rule that costs should be left to be borne to the parties.
Here a case \Vas decided against one of the parties ...fu. a contentious
lnatter, and costs should have been awarded. [44 F-450]
E
C1v1L A 0 PELLATE JuR1sorcnoN: Civil Appeal No. 198 of
F
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1967.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated
December 14, 1966 of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in
Regular Second Appeal No. 399 of 1966.
Hardev Singh, H. L. Kapoor and Dhu/ Chand. for the appellants.
Bishan Narain,
Sadhu Singh,
Bireswar Bhattacharya and
Jagmohari Khanna, for the respondents.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Hidayatullah C.J.,
This is an appeal against the judgment of
a learned Single Judge of the High Court of Punjab dated December 14, 1966 confirming the dismissal of a suit filed by the appellants.
The facts of the case are as follows :
One Bhag Singh mortgaged certain lands to Ran Jang Singh
in the year 1923.
On September 6, 1961 one Vernon Seth Chotia, son of Bhag Singh executed a power of attorney in California, U.S.A. authorising Sardar Kartar Singh Chawla, an-advocate
of this Court, to sell the property and execute the sale deed and
40
SUPREME COURT REPOltTS
fl 971 J I S.C.R.
preaent it for registration. This power of attorney was witnessed
by one Daniel E. Cooper.
On the strength of this documei.t,
Sardar Kartar Singh Chawla exes;uted the sale deed on May 30,
1963 in favour of the respondents in this appeal.
He presented
it for registration and the document was registered.
The vendees
thereupon sought to red:em the mortgage and applied unJer s. 9
of the Punjab Redemption of Mortgages Act, 1913. They deposited the entire amount due under the mortgage in the Collector's court and we understand th<1tthe amount is still lying there,
because of the later proceedings from which this appeal arises.
The Collector ordered the redemption of the mortgage.
The Appellants who are the sons of the original mortgagee thereupon
filed a suit under s. 12 of the Act on August 7, 1963.
It is
·necessary to refer to their petition of plaint, not with a view to
finding out what they stated there, but to see what reliefs they
claimed in the suit.
In para 10 of the petition of plaint, the
appellants as plaintiffs stated :
"The plaintiffs pray that a decree for declaralion to
the effect that the defendants are neither the owners of
the above mentioned land nor they have any right to get
the aforesaid land redeemed as per the orders of the
S.D.0. Mukatsar exercising the powers of Collector.
elated the 6th August, 1963 which is illegal a,nd against
law and the plaintiffs are not bound by it and ne;!her the
defendants are entitled to take possession of the aforesaid land in aocordance with that order, be passed in
favour o~ the plaintiffs against the defendants with
costs."
While this suit was still pending and because of the challenge
to the power of attorney on the ground that it had not been
properly authenticated under the law, a fresh power of attorney
was executed by Vernon Seth Chotia on March 23, 1964 iniavour
of Sardat Kartar Singh Chawla.
The second power of attorney
was subscribed and sworn to before the Notary Public in and for
the County of Alameda, State of California.
The Clerk of the
Court as required by the laws of California appended a certificate
that the Notary Public had duly given the certificate in acknowledgement of the execution of the power of attorney by Vernon Seth
Chotia.
The endorsement of the Notary Public reads:
"Subscribed and sworn to before me this 23rd day of
March 1964.
Betly J. Botelko
Notary Public in and for the County of Alameda,
State of California."
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JUGRAJ V. JASWANT (Hidayatullah, C.J.)
41
A
This second power of attorney was produced in the suit and the
court of first instance ordered the dismissal of the suit. because
it was of opinion that the transfer in favour of the redeeming mortgagors by Vernon Chotia ~!I!' thereafter flawless.
Appeal in the
Di~trict Court and a second 7ippeal filed in tbv lli~ ~()Urt failed,
Tins appeal has been brought by special leave.
· -
.'.B
. Mr. Hardev Singh in arguing the appeal referred to the provis10ns of s. 85 of the Indian Evidence Act which provides that a
Court shall presume that every document purporting to be a power
of attorney and to have been executed before arid authenticated by
a Notary Public was duly executed and authenticated. He contend-
.I..
ed that auilientication of the power of attorney had to be in a
particulr form, and that it was not sufficient that a witness should
have sig..ed the document, be he a Notary Public or any other.
It ought to have been signed by the persons named in s. 8 5 and
should have been authenticated properly.
He admittea that there
was no prescribed form of authentication, but he relied upon a
ruling of the Allahabad High Court reported in Wali Mohammad
D
Choudhari and others -... Jamal Uddin Chaudhari(') where it is
stated that authentication means that the person who autll.enticates
must satifsy himself about the identity of the person executing or
making the documen~. He argued that the authentication should
have shown on its face that the Notary Public had satisfied himself
that Vernon Chotia was the real person who had signed the power
E
of attorney before him.
He contended, therefore, that the first
power of attorney was invalid because it was not authenticated
before any of the persons named in s. 85 and the second power
of attorney was invalid, because it did noc show on its face that
the Notary Public had satisfied himself that it was Vernon Chotia
who executed the document.
He also contended that, in any
r
event, the execution of the second power of attorney was ineffective after the expiry of four months during which registration had
to be obtained and further that the act of Mr. Chawla in presenting the document for registration under the invalid first power of
attorney, could not be cured by the execution of a second power
of attorney.
G
B
Mr. Hardev Singh referred us to the provisions of ss. 32 and
33 of the Indian Registration Act. Under s. 32, it is provided
that a document to be registered, whether the registration is com.-
. pulsory or optional, must be by the presentation at the proper
registration office either by some person executing or claiming
ooder the same or by the agent of such person, representative or
assign, duly authorised by. power-of-attorney executed and authenticated in the manner therein mentioned. His contention was
(i, A.I.R. 1950 All. S24.
L11Sup,CI (NP)/70-4
.
42
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1971 J 1 S.C.R.
that for a proper registration, due presentation was a condition
precede;nt and that presentation could only be either by the executant, that is the Principal who conveyed under the deed or a
duly constituted representative under a power of attorney properly
executed.
He referred then to s. 33 which says that if the principal at the time of execution does not reside in India the power
of attorney will be recognised only if it is executed before and
authe;nticated by a Notary Public.
In other words, his contention
was that power of attorney for purpose of presentation of a document for registration as also for its execution must be a properly
authenticated document and in the case of a person residing
abroad, it must be a document executed by the Principal befor.e
the Notary Public and attested and authenticated by the Notary
Public after due proof of the identity of the person making the
document.
He relied further upon the ruling in Dottie Karan
and others v. Lachmi Prasad Sinha and others(1) and contended
that if a power of attorney under which a doc'.lment was presented
and got registered, were found to be defective,
th~n the registration would be of no consequence, because the registering officer
would 1ack jurisdiction to register the document.
These are the stages by which Mr. Hardev. Singh contended
that registration in this case was ineffective, that the vendees derived no title and therefore they had no title to claim redemption
either under the Punjab Redemption of Mortgages Act or otherwise.
These contentions were also raised in the High Court and
the two courts below, but were concurrently rejected.
It is plain that presentation for registration could be, either
by the Principal or by a duly constituted attorney. It is equally
plain that a proper power of attorney duly authenticated as required by law had to be made before power could be conferred
on another either to execute the document or to present i: for
registration.
That indeed is the law.
The short question in this case is whether Mr. Chawla possessed such a power of attorney for executing the document and for
presentation of it for registration. Now, if we were to take into
account the first power of attorney which was executed in his
favour on May 30, 1963, we would be forced to say that it did
not comply with the requirements of the law and was ineffective
to clothe Mr. Chawla with the authority to execute the sale deed
or to present it for registration. That power of attorney was not
authenticated as required by s. 33 of the Indian Registration Act"
which in the case of an Indian residing abroad, requires that the
<locument should be authenticated by a Notary Public. The document only bore the signature of a witness without anything to
(!) SS I.A. 58.
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JUGRAJ v. JASWANT (Hidayatullah, C.J-)
43
show that he was a Notary Public. In any event there was no
authentication by the Notary Public (if he was one) in the manner
which the law would consider adequate.
The second power of
attorney however does show that it was executed before a proper
Notary Public who complied with the laws of California and
authenticated the document as required by that law.
We are
satisfied that that power of attorney was also duly authenticated
in accordance with our laws.
The only complaint was that the
Notary Public did not say in his endorsement that Mr. Chawla
had been identified to his satisfaction.
But that flows from the
fact that he endorsed on the· document that it had been subscribed
and sworn before him.
There is a presumption of regularity of
official acts and we are satisfied that he must have satisfied himself in the discharge of his duties that the person who was executing it was the proper person. This makes the second power of
attorney valid and effective both under s. 85 of the Indian Evidence Act and s. 33 of the .lndian Registration Act.
The only question is whether the second power of attorney
D · was effective to render vaiid the transaction of sale and the registration of the document both earlier than the power of attorney.
ln our judgment, it would be so. Mr. Hardev Singh does not read
into this matter the fact of ratification by Vernon Seth Chotia of
his earlier power of attorney.' The second power of attorney
states in express terms that the first power of attorney was defecE
F
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tive and was being ratified.
Vernon Seth Chotia also stated in
the second power of attorney that the act of Mr. Chawla would
be his act which included not only the making of the 'document
but also the presentation of that document. Now the law is quite
clear that ratification relates back to the original act provided
there is a disclosed principal and this has been stated nowhere
'better than by Lord Macnaughton in Keighley, Maxsted and Co.
v. Durant(') quoting Tindal, C. J. in Wilson v.
Tumman(').
"That an act done, for another, by a person though
without any precedent authority whatever, becomes the
act of the principal, subsequently ratified by him, ;s the
known and well-established rule of law.
In that case
the principal is bound by the act, whether it be for the
detriment or his advantage, and whether it be founded
on a tort or on a contract, to the same effect as by, and
with all the consequences which follow from, the same
act done by his previous authority. And so by a wholesome and convenient fiction, a person ratifying the act
of another, who, without authority, has made a contract
openly and avowedly on his behalf,
is deemed to be,
in fact he was not, a party to the contract."
(I) [1901] A.C. 241at246-47.
(2) 1843 6 M. & . G. at p. 242.
44
SUPREM.E COURT REPORTS
[1971 J l s.c.~
Relation bacJ,c of an act of ratification was expressly accepted · in
this case.
Other cases have been summarised in the manual of -
the Law and Practice of Powers of Attorney issued by the Council
of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries. This follows from the
maxim of law "Canis ratihabitio retrotrahitur at mandato priori
sequiparatur"-that is to say, ratification is thrown back to the
date of the act done, and the agent is put in the same position as
if he had authority to do the act at the time the act was done by
him. The learned authors quote the case of the House of Lords
which· we have above cited and add to it certain other cases with
which we do not consider necessary to encumber this judgment.
It therefore follows that the second power of attorney was a
valid document and it authorised Mr. Chawla to execute the
document as well as to present it for registration. This being a
·document ratifying a former inconclusive act related back to the
time when the first document was made and cured the illegality
in the presentation for registration which had taken place.
The case of the Privy Council on which great reliance was
placed, namely, 58 I.A. 58 (cit. supra) no doubt states that presentation by a person who is not properly authorised by a power
of attorney is ineffective and the registration void, but :here the
Judicial Committee was not considering the case of a subsequent
ratification. They were only concerned with an invalid document
and nothing more. If there had been ratification, the other principle to which we have adverted here would have been taken note
of and the decision would probably have been different.
In these circumstances, we are satisfied that there was proper
execution of the document and registration.
It is hardly necessary, in view of our decision, to say anything more about this
case. We are also satisfied that the appellants were not entitled
to a declaration. We h8.ve reproduced the paragraph in which the
reliefs were asked in the plaint. It will be noticed that they
neither asked for the cancellation of the order of the Collector
nor for any injunction, two of the reliefs which they were entitled
to ask in the case in addition to the declaration. Such a suit would
be hit by s. 42 of the Specific Relief Act and we would be quite
in a position to deny them the declaration without these specific
reliefs. Indeed they had only to ask for the setting aside of the
order.
·
Further, this is obviously an unmeritorious suit on the part
of the mortgagees. They are after all mortgages and redemption
has been offered to them by a person who is the son of the original mortgagor and who has resorted to the quick remedy of the
Redemption Act, for gettmg the mortgage redeemed. This mortgage took place as far back as 1923 and we are now in the year
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JUGRAJ v.. JASWANT (Hidayatullah, C.J.)
45
19 70. It is obvious that over the years this property must have
appreciated considerably in value.
The intention of the mortgagees is to retain the property as long as they can by raising
technical objections in the way of the mortgagors seeking
to
redeem it.
Further again the appellants as plaintiffs in the case
joined the transferees from Vernon Seth Chotia but made no
attempt to join Vernon Seth Chotia, the son of the original mortgagor.
The ~uit could be only properly framed with all the
parties before the Court. In our opinion, even if Vernon Seth
Chotia was not a necessary party, he was at least a proper party.
If he had been brought before the court, we would have known
from him whether he had given the authority to execute the document and he could have adopted the act of Sardar Chawla by
ratifying it again.
The suit was not properly framed.
For all
these reasons, the appeal has no merits and it fails and will be
dismissed with costs.
I
We are surprised to note that the learned Judge in the High
Court did not award costs.
Normally costs should follow the
event and it is not the rule that costs should be left to be borne
to the parties. Here a case was decided against one of the parties
in a contentious matter, and costs should have been awarded.
Y.P.
Appeal dismissed.