Cancellation of gift deed by the donor
Rikin
(Querist) 17 December 2012
This query is : Resolved
Greetings,
My Uncle, a bachelor, signed a gift deed, giving away his residential property to his 2 nephews, children of his older brother who is no more. The property is not ancestral. It was registered in my uncle's name. It's been 2 years since the signing of the gift deed happened. He has been living with his sisters since at least 18 months. He was diagnosed with Depression and was put on anti depressants.During this period he reveled that he was made to sign a gift deed for the house under coercion & duress.Non of his sisters were aware of this. He is 82 years old and didn't talk about it earlier as he was scared that his nephews might harm him, his sisters & their family. Now that he is feeling more safe and confident and has also learnt that he can legally cancel the gift deed, he wants to do so.
My Queries are as follows:
1. Is it possible for my uncle to cancel the gift deed providing the above mention circumstances/event?
2. Is there a time limitation of any sort, within which you can cancel the gift deed?
3. To file this suit, is it necessary to submit a court fee?
4. If no, then what other route can be taken to avoid the court fee?
The court fee is a concern as my uncle's current financial situation is not very good.
Thanking you in anticipation.
adv. rajeev ( rajoo )
(Expert) 17 December 2012
He can cancel the gift deed by filing the suit for declaration . As per the state court fee act he will have to pay the court fee
Devajyoti Barman
(Expert) 17 December 2012
He can not unilaterally cancel the gift deed. Either he or his legal heirs need to file a suit for declaring the gift deed as null and void on the grounds stated by you.
The court fees will have to be paid which is not much.
ajay sethi
(Expert) 17 December 2012
file suit for setting aside gift deed as vitateded by coercion and fraud .you will have to pay cour fees
Rikin
(Querist) 17 December 2012
Thank you all for the prompt response.
In this case on what basis would the court fee be calculated?
To avoid the court fee we have been advised to file for possession. And when the other side presents the gift deed my uncle should deny the fact that he signed the gift deed and should say that he was taken to the court and made to sign on some pretext or the other.
Our concern is whether the court would accept this. And that even if the court accepts our plea, would we have to amend our plea or file a new case for cancellation/revoking of gift deed. Thereon, would that also attract the same court fee the we were try to avoid or it would be a different case from that of the cancellation of gift deed?
We were also wondering that since my uncle is 82 would the court deal with this case on urgent basis?
Is there a legal way to ensure the safety of my uncle and his sisters...since he feels a genuine threat from the other side. Can this be made a part of the plaint?
Lastly, within how much period can one cancel a gift deed?
Thanks again.
Devajyoti Barman
(Expert) 17 December 2012
The idea proposed by you is not legally tenable as unless the gift deed is declared null and void by the court of law, nobody can avoid its relevance or existence.
Advocate M.Bhadra
(Expert) 17 December 2012
Gift Deed once execute can not be revoked/cancelled(sec.122 T.P.Act),only court can cancelled it by an petition by the donor if there was any fraud and coercion happened at the time of execution,but in rare cases court would cancel the gift.
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 17 December 2012
I do agree with the advice of the experts.
Rikin
(Querist) 21 December 2012
thanks a lot for your advise & suggestions in the past.
We would be grateful if the experts could address the following Qs.
1.
To file for cancellation of the gift deed, what would be the court fee i.e. what percentage of the valuation of the gift deed, as per the Court Fee (Delhi Amendment) Act, 2012?
2.
In case we file for possession, will there be a court fee for that as well. If yes, then what would it be based on & what %?
3.
Most importantly, would filing for possession and then finding out about the gift deed followed by declaring that the plaintiff was not aware of the gift deed and that he signed the gift deed without knowing what it was a valid detour to take to avoid court fee? Is there a down/up side to it?
4.
What is the success rate of suits for cancellation of gift deed or for declaration that the deed was signed under duress?
I would be obliged if the experts could enlighten us on these.
Thanks
ajay sethi
(Expert) 21 December 2012
you need to contact lawyers practising in delhi as to court fees payable in delhi
dont surpress any facts from courts to avoid payment of court fees . success rate would depend upon facts of case .
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 21 December 2012
1. Gift deed if was conditional, only then it can be got revoked and a token court fee of Rs. 50/- is required to be affixed in Delhi for such petition.
2. Yes.
3. No. Court fee is required to be affixed on the memo of the petition.
4. Such plea is rarely accepted. Ignorance of law is no excuse.
