Indian Legal Solutions for NRI & International Clients

The four instructions NRIs bring most often

1. Protecting property in India. Ancestral or purchased property occupied by a relative, or land where a developer has not delivered. The first step is usually a title and possession audit, followed by a caveat or an injunction to stop an alienation before it happens.
2. Succession and inheritance. Obtaining a succession certificate, letters of administration or a probate where a will exists, and then getting the property transferred into the heirs' names in the municipal and revenue records.
3. Recovery of money. Security deposits, rent arrears, unpaid consideration on a sale, or dues from an Indian business — followed by a suit for recovery or, where an arbitration clause exists, arbitration.
4. Family matters with a foreign element. Divorce where the spouses are in different countries, maintenance, custody and the recognition of foreign decrees in India.

Documents executed abroad: the sequence that matters

An instrument signed outside India usually needs three things before an Indian authority will act on it. First, notarisation in the country of execution. Second, apostille from the designated authority in that country, or consular legalisation from the Indian mission, depending on whether the country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. Third, adjudication and stamping in India within three months of its receipt, where the instrument is one that requires stamping — a power of attorney read together with the stamp duty schedule of West Bengal.

Getting the order wrong is the single most common cause of delay. An unstamped or unadjudicated power of attorney will not be acted on by a sub-registrar, and a court will generally refuse to rely on a document that has not been properly proved.

Powers of attorney

A general power of attorney is broad and carries real risk; a special power of attorney limited to one transaction is usually the better instrument. For property matters, a power of attorney in favour of a trusted relative, executed abroad, notarised, apostilled and then adjudicated and stamped in India, allows a sale, registration or a court filing to proceed without the owner travelling.

Where the principal later revokes the authority, the revocation must be communicated and, for registered instruments, recorded, or third parties who deal with the holder in ignorance of the revocation may be protected.

Signing documents and appearing in court from abroad

In most civil matters a client abroad is not required to appear personally. Evidence can be given by affidavit where the law permits, and where a witness must be examined questions can be put on commission. In criminal matters, appearance requirements are stricter and the strategy is usually to obtain a permanent or ad-interim exemption from personal appearance, which is applied for at the first hearing rather than later.

Working across time zones

Consultations are scheduled to suit the client's time zone, and progress is reported by email so that there is a written record of what was filed and when. For a first assessment, send the title documents, the instrument executed abroad and a dated chronology to the office, or call +91-9007000603.

What an NRI should do before anything else

The single most useful step for an NRI with an Indian legal problem is to put the documents in one place before speaking to anyone. The deed, the record of rights, the municipal receipt, the will or succession document, the bank statements and the correspondence. With those in hand, an assessment takes a short conversation; without them, it takes several rounds and often produces the wrong plan.

Protecting property that someone else is occupying

1. Establish who is in possession and on what basis — a relative, a tenant, a licensee or a person with no right at all.
2. Check whether any transfer, mortgage or lease has already been registered without the owner's knowledge, by searching the sub-registry records for the property.
3. File a caveat in the registry so that no application affecting the property is decided without notice.
4. Where an alienation is threatened, apply for an injunction in a civil suit, supported by the title documents.
5. Where possession is held without right, file a suit for recovery of possession, or proceedings under the tenancy law where the tenancy is governed by it.

Succession without travel

Where a will exists, probate is applied for before the Calcutta High Court on its Original Side, or before the district court where the value falls within its jurisdiction. Where there is no will, a succession certificate or letters of administration are applied for, and the court issues notices to the other heirs. The applicant can be represented by a power of attorney holder, so physical presence is usually not needed. Once the certificate or probate is granted, the property records are mutated in the heirs' names and the assets are transferred.

Documents that must come from abroad

Anything executed outside India and intended for use in an Indian court or registry needs to be proved. The usual route is notarisation in the country of execution, then apostille or consular legalisation, and then adjudication and stamping in India where the instrument requires stamping. A death certificate, a marriage certificate or a power of attorney issued abroad follows the same sequence. Clients are advised to get several certified copies at the time of execution, because replacements are slow and expensive.

Tax and regulatory points that arise with the legal question

An NRI selling Indian property faces tax deduction at source on the consideration, and the buyer is obliged to deduct it. Where the sale produces a capital gain, reinvestment relief is available within the statutory period and the conditions are strict. These are tax questions rather than legal ones, but they change the timing of a sale and should be settled with a tax adviser before the sale deed is executed, because a sale completed without the deduction certificate creates a liability that follows the buyer.

For an NRI matter, send the documents and a dated chronology to the office, or call +91-9007000603. The first consultation is free and can be held outside Indian working hours.