Further questions on what if i sign on a blank vakalatnama?
Murshid Alam
(Querist) 25 May 2014
This query is : Resolved
I am one of the co-owners’ of a property( 3 –storied building ) under Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The other co-owners are my elder brother, who is staying in the same premises with his family and my elder sister staying at New Delhi with her family. There are 9 self-contained flats in the building, 3 flats in each storey. On the 1st floor, I am in staying with my family in a flat and above me my elder brother is in possession of a flat. On the terrace, there is a room with attached bath with kitchen( my sister used to stay before she settled at New Delhi with her family, 17 years before) which is now being used by my brother for his business purpose. Other 7 flats are occupied by tenants. My father died intestate on 11.9.1993 and my mother passed away on 10.3.1996. Since my mother’s demise , my elder brother is collecting rents from the tenants, being the the elder son. He sends me the statement of receipts & payments a/c. of the rents collected debiting the expenses incurred for maintenance of the building every 3 months. One of the tenants is not paying rent since more than a year, after my elder brother sent him a legal notice asking for enhancement of rent as per West bengal premises tenancy act ( amended), 1997. Since then according to my brother ( as he is managing the estate ), the tenant is tendering the rent before the Rent controller. Now my brother is preparing to file an application u/s 17(6) of the west Bengal premises tenancy act,1997 before the Ld. Addl. Rent Controller at Alipore, kolkata. My elder brother would sign the application as the deponent identified by our Advocate, ( appointed by my brother). Myself and the other co-owner( my elder sister) would sign in the vakalatnama. My sister has already signed on the same and it has been handed over to me due for my signature. In the past, due to certain reasons, whatever it had had happened; frankly speaking I lack complete trust in my brother. My brother wants to file the same coming week and from Tuesday onwards, I shall be out of station for a period of about 7 to 10 days for work. As I am being skeptic, my question is - can my brother use the blank vakalatnama signed by me against me for some malafide intention ( other than attaching the same with the application U/S. 17(6) of W.B.P.T.A.,1997 and filing before the Ld. Addl. Rent Controller) later and take material advantage on me? Further, please substantiate the significance of Vakalatnama in particular and implication of signing on a blank Vakalatnama.
Could my elder brother instead of attaching the blank vakalatnama signed by me meant for depositing the same before the Ld. addl. Rent Controller,retain the same,, later may use the same to transfer the entire undivided inherited property in his name in the near future. The other co-owner ( my elder sister, who is staying at New Delhi) had already hinted some months back that she wants to sell off her share and wants cash. I objected to the same, as because, the property was painstakingly made by our father and I do not favour sell off of any portion of the property.
My ultimate question is - in an undivided inherited property, partly tenanted, where there is more than 1 Landlord, can any of the Landlords of the property, file a civil suit on any of the tenants without the signatures/written consent of other co-owners in legal documents at the time of filing the application.
please comment.
----- M.Alam, Kolkata
Guest
(Expert) 25 May 2014
Repeated query. Already answered.
Sudhir Kumar, Advocate
(Expert) 25 May 2014
repeated
http://www.lawyersclubindia.com/experts/What-if-i-sign-on-a-blank-vakalatnama--474201.asp#.U4H8w3b5ugA
T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate
(Expert) 29 May 2014
