Dear legal community,
I am stuck in typical property issue and seeking you help and advice.
We are two siblings to our parents, me and my brother who is elder to me by 5 years. In the year 2003 when my father got retired my brother was already working(well settled) and I was in my final year degree. My father gave Rs 1 lakh each out of his retirement benefits. My brother invested his part in his financial interest. I was keen in investing on real estate. We found a piece land (60*40) in
were ready to give only composite loan for buying and building a house. Me and my brother were very close then and he suggested that he would buy the property on my-behalf as he was getting a handsome salary and loan would be approved very easily . I had to just pay 20% of the total cost and which I did with the 1 lakh I had got from my father. We went on with the deal with mutual understanding that the once I finish my degree and start earning, I shall take over the loan reapayment and also repay the loan emi he would have payed while I was still stuying. We were very confident as I had already had a job at campus placement.
A year later my brother got married and I started earning. I started giving him a cheque in his name for the emi from the very first month. We enquired in bank to transfer the loan and property to my name as all the original docs were with bank. The bank didn’t agree and they said Pre-closure is the only option to give the original docs. My brother said I simply continue paying him the cheque for the emi and we shall
Pre-close when we have access to funds. This went on for two years and I was regularly giving him cheques for the emi though the property/loan was still in his name. Meanwhile i also repayed the 1 year emi which he paid to bank when i was still studying.
Fortunately, the price of the same property rose by 4 times in 2006 and even I had many international assignments and had to move abroad for work. I don’t know what happened to my brother, one fine day he called me and said he can’t transfer the property to me and he could only give back the emi’s I have paid after I started working. This was unacceptable to me and we had a verbal fight over it ( I still feel its all because of his wife J ). Later my parents and other in family came forward to settle this issue. After long tussle, I agreed to pay him 8 laks in additional to the 1 year emi he had paid when I was working. ( this was almost 40%of the property value in 2008). I didn’t take anything in writing and it was just verbal commitment. I gave him 8 lakhs in two installment in next 3 month (I do have bank transfer proof for the same). He agreed to do the registration whenever I want and also I had to foreclose the bank loan on the property. I had enough funds to fore-close then but another problem cropped up. The Municpal corporation
Of Bangalore (BBMP) had stopped registering/sale deeds for the area we had the property. By now me and my brother had no differences though he was bit jealous of me that I am earning more than him. The registration opened again in 2010, almost 2 years after I paid 8 lakhs. In beginning of 2011 I pre-closed the loan amount (around 7 lakhs with my cheques… I have proof for that). My brother was with me to collect the documents from bank. We agreed to make a sale deed on one fine day in January. 3 days before registration he said he would make a gift deed instead of sale deed and I could
save some stamp duty ( he wanted me to give the saved money to him which I agreed).
Unfortunately on the day of registration when all the gift deed paper was drafted from a lawyer/notary and we were about to go to sub-registrar office to register the gift deed, he started a new demand that he wants 7 more lakhs if he has to sign the papers. Though I was heart broken and lost my temper, I was bit nervous because I was flying abroad in next 3 days for a long term. We had big verbal fight in front of the notary. He didn’t give up his demand for 7 lakhs even after my father intervened. Later he gave up a bit and demanded 4 lakhs. I had no money then. He asked me to give a post dated cheque. I had no other option but to accept it otherwise he wouldn’t agreed to sign the gift deed. Later he also drafted a one page affidavit on a stamp paper mentioning the cheque number I gave him for 4 lakhs (dated end of this month) that the SALE OF THE HOUSE (mentioning the address of the house only) would be complete after the cheque is honoured otherwise he could take appropriate steps against me. He agreed to sign on the gift deed only after signing the the affidavit. I simply signed the affidavit attested by a notary (which was never written in the notory registry). Later the gift deed was done/registered and I have the latest EC which reflects my name as the owner.
The point to note here that, in the Registrar office it is a GIFT deed with NO conditions in it and it is registered. But he has a cheque and a affidavit (on stamp paper) which says the
Now my question are as follows:
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In case the cheque is dishonored, what are the consequences? Do I have to just deal the cheque bounce charges ( I know its serious) or will he be able to get the gift deed void just because he has an additional documents mentioned ‘
- Its not my intention to break the law, but purity of natural justice will have no value for cheaters like my brother if the cheque is honoured. My inner soul says that I have paid him enough and not to pay anymore.
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Also my brother is married now. This property was bought when he was a single. In future, can his wife and children create problems with this gift deed?
Please feel free to ask if you have any additional questions. I am looking for a good lawyer to defend me in case……..
Thank you,
kamal
