Invalidation of more than twelve years old sale deeds

Originally posted by : Guest
	Owner's Grandfather had divided his self owned property among his children during his lifetime and updated in govt records there was no dispute about it for more than two decades and owner's parents also lived peacefully all their lives. Several years later, while owner was away due to unavoidable conditions, portions of this dwelling house property were sold through multiple sale deeds at few months difference by his cousins. They were occupying some portions of house in goodwill and sold those areas to strangers based on supposedly unregistered and unprobated handwritten will of grandfather and local body tax reciepts created few days before deed. The sale deeds are also in violation of Town Planning rules. The buyers demolished those parts of his house and never gave any notice or show deeds to owner and kept quiet. They carried out activities at the place which were declared illegal and stopped. Now after several years, owner has full possession of his house but how to get those wrong sale deeds invalidated which are more than twelve years old and sellers are not present? Owner also feels strongly about damages caused to his property. Buyer is very rigid and unreliable claiming the portions as his plots based on old sale deeds. Please advice best remedy for the owner. Thanks in advance!

By which valid/registered deed it was done!

Handwritten WILL may fetch more reliance.

Was the WILL acted upon without any cloud on it?

Which personal law applies in this case say; Hindu!

No deed of division but written statement of grandfather that he is dividing it for his children and it was acted upon and approved by govt authorities viz town planning, municipality, etc. Will was never acted upon since division was already accepted by children as above. Hindu law. Mitakshara.

Before answering your query the documents have to be perused to verify how the Title has gone from one hand to the other.

The duration of twelve years is the time limit to claim any rights in the property. The person in possession of the property may also claim adverse possession in the property if he is having uninterrupted possession of the property for twelve years or more without paying rent to anyone. 

Until or unless the WILL is acted upon without any cloud in it the ownership can not be transferred to said cousins.

The said cousins can not sell until or unless they have become owner by a valid/registered deed.

The procedure for Testate Succession ( by acting upon a valid WILL} is usually available on website of authority under whose jurisdiction property falls e.g; MC or forms/procedure can be obtained from O/o authority.

The certified copy of WILL, death certificate, legal heir certificate are basic requirements.The authority may ask for NOC from legal heirs/advt in newspapers and/or may write to legal heirs to submit objections within set time………………..and if NO objections are received the authority may transfer ownership in the name of beneficiary(ies) as in valid WILL.

If the WILL is contested it may land up in Probate Court of pecuniary jurisdiction and court alone can grant Probate.

If the WILL is duly probated then the beneficiary (ies) must have submitted the copy to O/o authority.

You may obtain the mutation records along with all link documents and these should show on strength of which document/order the cousins became owner and could sell by registered sale deed.

Thank you sirs, for your response. Please allow me to re-phrase my query in parts:

1. There was an oral division (no deed) made during life time by self owned owner of property which was accepted by local authorities but as long as owner was alive, mutation of beneficiaries was not done. There is a hand written letter where owner has written that division is being done for children. Here there was no division of house building, only of land.

2. There is an unregistered and unprobated hand written Will of same person and the division described in it is that of a Hindu family dwelling house plus land. The division of house cannot be approved under prevailing laws.

Of these, which one of above would get precedence and what are remedies for beneficiaries in their case?