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Neetu Singh @ Nitu Singh vs. Anand Kumar & Anr.

Execution First Appeal · 2026:DHC:8018Decided 18 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
EX.F.A. 55/2026CNR: DLHC010289622026
Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar

Background

The appellant, wife of the judgment debtor in a property specific-performance decree, objected to the attachment of a property in her execution proceedings, claiming she had bought it from her husband in 2017, before his 2018 agreement to sell it to the decree holder, through documents like a General Power of Attorney, agreement to sell, and a will, none of which were formally registered.

Decision Breakdown

Relying on established Supreme Court law (Suraj Lamp & Industries), the Court held that unregistered documents like a GPA or agreement to sell can never transfer legal ownership of immovable property, only a registered sale deed can do that, so even if every fact in the appellant's story were true, it still could not give her ownership, making a full evidentiary trial on the point pointless. The Court also found the surrounding story deeply implausible: the appellant, while married and living with the debtor, claimed to have bought the family home from him due to his debts, yet offered no proof of payment from around that time, and separately accused the decree holder's associates of forcing her husband into a settlement: an allegation her husband himself never raised. The appeal was dismissed as the objection appeared designed to delay and frustrate the decree.

Lesson Learnt

Buying property through informal documents like a Power of Attorney or unregistered agreement to sell, even from a family member, does not make you the legal owner in India; only a registered sale deed can transfer real ownership of land or a house.

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