The Supreme Court ruling changed what General Power of Attorney transactions can and cannot convey. Most buyers still don't understand the distinction.
General Power of Attorney sales were, for a long stretch, the default method of transferring land in parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. They avoided stamp duty, they were quick, and everyone involved treated them as equivalent to a sale.
What the Court held
In Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana, the Supreme Court held that a transaction structured as a GPA, an agreement of sale, and a will does not convey title. Immovable property is transferred by a registered deed of conveyance and by nothing else.
A GPA remains perfectly valid as what it actually is: an instrument of agency. It authorises someone to act on the owner's behalf, including to execute a sale deed. What it does not do is make the holder the owner.
Why this still matters in 2026
Because a great deal of land in the region changed hands this way before the ruling, and those chains did not retroactively repair themselves. A parcel offered today may sit on a GPA link three or four transactions back.
The practical consequence is that the person offering to sell may genuinely believe they own the land while holding nothing that conveys title. This is rarely fraud. It is far more often a seller who inherited a defective chain and never had reason to examine it.
What to ask for
- The registered conveyance deed, not the GPA, at every link in the chain.
- Whether the original principal was alive when the GPA was exercised. An unregistered GPA lapses on death.
- Mutation records showing the revenue department recognised each transfer.
