EMINENT LEGAL QUOTES

Power to frame a policy by executive or legislative decision included the power to withdraw the same.

Benefits extended to some persons in an illegal or irregular manner cannot be claimed by others on the plea of equality.

Rule of the game cannot be changed after the game is over.

The procedure for depriving a person of his life or liberty should be fair, reasonable and just.

Government is not accountable to the courts in respect of policy decisions. However, they are accountable for the legality of such decisions.

It is trite law that justice should not only be done but it should be seen to have been done.

The concept of adverse possession of lien on post or holding over is not applicable in service jurisprudence.

An illegality cannot be regularized, particularly, when the statue in no unmistakable term say so.

Necessity knows no law. A person may sometimes have to succumb to the pressure of the other party to the bargain who is in a stronger position.

Ignoring our commitments may make us rationale but not free. It cannot make us maintain our constitutional identity.

The letter of the Government permitting regularization of possession of unauthorized occupants is not valid. Such letters are wholly illegal and without jurisdiction. Such illegalities cannot be regularized.

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Checklist for purchasing immovable property

Checklist For Purchasing Immovable Property

Purchasing a property or owning a house is an important thing in one’s life. However, one needs to be careful while buying a property to avoid falling into legal hassles. Before buying a property a number of checks need to be done to confirm that the land has a clear and marketable title. The legal status of the property is one of the first issues that should be addressed. The documents required for scrutiny of the title will vary in each case.

A handy and simple property purchase checklist one should consider before taking decisions on buying property in and around Bangalore.

Documents checklist for purchasing agricultural land (from Karnataka/Bangalore standpoint)

Mother/Parental Deed

Origin of the Property

Flow of the Property

Sale deed

Grant Certificate

Family trees

Index of Land

Mutations

Record of Rights

Survey map

Village map

Agarband, Tippani

Demand and Tax paid receipts

Khatha

Encumbrance certificate

Present possession

Endorsement from competent authorities.

source:http://checklistpurchasingproperty.blogspot.in/

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Property Purchase Guide

Simple Guide Before You Buy Property………….

Posted by Hemanth S at 2:47 AM | Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Buying property is a serious business, because you are not only buying a dream property but also your investment in life. It is obvious that you don’t want to invest on property which causes problem or risk in future. You may be searching for a guide to understand simple procedure for smooth and easy buying of property.

Here is an attempt to provide simple guide for cross-checking before buying a property.

1. Ask for Photocopies of all deeds of title, revenue records and all other documents related to the property to be purchased. [Simple Checklist for Purchase of Property, to know the necessary documents]

2. Do not buy a property if the title of property is not clear. If title is not clear or marketable it will cause problem in future. You can seek assistance of your lawyer to know whether the title of the property is clear. 

3. Origin of the property is very important to trace the title of the property. Documents covering a minimum period of 41 years must be scrutinized.

4. After ascertaining origin of the property, you should ensure methodical examination of events and subsequent transaction.

5. Revenue records must be verified, revenue records should bear the name of the seller.

6. Ensure that seller of property has all documents relating to property.

7. Ask for original property documents and compare the same with photo copies provided for scrutiny.

8. You must physically verify the property. On spot, you must verify the property physical measurement and boundaries; it should tally with the measurement and boundary mentioned in the documents.  You must also ensure that there is no physical encroachment on the property. You may also make enquires with the adjacent owners about the ownership of the property.

9. You must ensure statutory clearances (like local clearances, NOC’s, Conversion, unto date taxes, etc), with regard to the property.

10. You may notify in a leading newspaper about your intention to purchase the property.  Though paper notification is optional, sometimes when published you might receive response from a genuine claimant.  This will help you in understanding disputes if any with regard to the property and avoid legal problem at a later date.

11. Property must be duly converted for residential purpose/ occupation, by the order of the competent authority.

12.  Get copy of the approved layout for the building from your builder or seller of the property. Compare photo copy with the original plan. Ensure that building plan or layout or construction is approved by the concerned authorities and the property you intend to purchase is within the approved plan.

13. Confirm Stamp duty, Registration charges and transfer fees to be paid on purchase of the property as well as other outgoings to be paid for the property i.e. property tax, water, electricity, maintenance, society charges etc.  Get good idea of total cost of all components with regard to property purchase, though all components are not immediately available, but should be factored into total cost.

14. Access to the property is critically important. If access is difficult, re-sale values will be affected, and may cause day to day inconvenience. You may also ensure proximity to bus stand, hospitals, market, central business district, hotels etc.

15. Check around with local sources to find builder or developer or seller reputations.

16. There must be nil encumbrances on the property. You must ensure that all existing charges (including mortgages) are cleared by the seller before entering into any transaction.

17. Ensure that the property you are buying has adequate water and power supply and sewage facility.

18. You must retain and backup all the correspondence or documents made with the builder or developer or seller.

19. You must carefully read the draft deeds before entering into any transaction (sale or Sale Agreement, etc.).

20. Avoid arbitration clause in contracts of purchase. Arbitration clauses were apparently designed to reduce the time and expenses of litigation, but many times may consume much time while appointing Arbitrator if the other party does not consent and many times arbitration clause empowers the builder to appoint the sole arbitrator, which is not agreeable and Arbitration proceeding cost may end up much higher than the court fees.

21. If you have belief in vastu, get consultation done before buying the property.

The foregoing is not a complete list of preventive measure, but is only a guideline, but hopefully it might be useful for people considering buying and selling of property.

source:http://propertyguideline.blogspot.in/

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Guide after you purchase a property....

Steps to be taken after purchase of property

Posted by Hemanth S at 5:11 AM | Saturday, January 1, 2011

Purchase of immovable property comprises various steps, broadly categorised as post and pre-registration. Here are few measures the purchaser is required to take after purchase of the property.

1. Obtain original documents of title from the seller and compare them with the copies which you had scrutinised through your advocate.

2. Inspect the property a day ahead of sale deed registration. Make sure that the property is as per the terms of the sale agreement.

3. Apply for updated encumbrance certificate with the sub-registrar office on the day of registration. Such encumbrance certificate should contain the registration details of your sale deed.

4. Purchaser should obtain possession of the property in terms of the sale agreement. The seller should completely hand over possession of the property and the purchaser should receive all the keys of the property at the time of registration.

5. The purchaser shall verify that all the taxes, statutory payments in respect of the property including power, water charges are paid up-to-date. Purchaser must collect all the paid receipt and verify the same with concerned offices. Power and water supply agencies collect deposits from the consumers, so you must collect such deposit receipts from the seller.

6. After completion of the registration of the sale deed, the purchaser should ensure that the khatha of the property in the records of the local bodies, gram phanchayats or the city corporation is transferred to the purchaser name.

7. Purchaser to ensure that the duly filed application for khatha transfer has been signed simultaneously while singing the sale deed. This will avoid unnecessary disputes and complications at a later date.

8. Khatha application with a sale deed copy is to be filed with the respective local bodies against acknowledgement. Local bodies transfer the khatha into the purchaser name on collecting a transfer fee, generally two percent on the stamp duty paid on the sale deed and issue written confirmation of transfer in the name of the purchaser.

9. The water and power connections installed are required to be transferred to in the name of the purchaser. Obtain a letter from the seller addressed to the respective authorities to transfer the connections, including the deposit paid to the purchaser name.

10. In case of a vacant site, the purchaser should put up a display board that he/she is the owner of the property and the trespassers will be prosecuted. It is good to fence the vacant site.  Periodical visits to the site are a must to detect any encroachment.

source:http://purchaseofproperty.blogspot.in/

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Passing Off Action by Mid-Size Foreign Companies Having Unregistered Marks in India | LinkedIn

Passing Off Action by Mid-Size Foreign Companies Having Unregistered Marks in India

There are often cases that we undertake for representation, wherein the cases relate to enforcement of trademarks by/of mid-sized foreign corporations that have not been filed and/or used in India against Indian companies that have deceptively used their marks thereby constituting misrepresentation, which might amount to passing off. Rupkatha and Poorva, interns at Khurana & Khurana, look at some of these cases and try to identify certain parameters based on which the mid-sized foreign companies can protect their interest.
Section 27(2) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 authorizes any trader to institute passing off action against another in spite of the fact that his mark is unregistered. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has laid down three elements that need to be fulfilled in order to institute a passing off action by the plaintiff in Satyam Infoway Ltd. v. Sifynet Solutions Pvt. Ltd.[3]:
Unregistered Marks of Foreign Companies
Section 18 of the Act allows foreign nationals to register their mark in India. Once a mark is registered, the company can take action for infringement against any person who tries to do so. The problem arises when the mark is unregistered. Is there any remedy for the company in such a situation? Or will it remain at the receiving end?
The Indian judiciary has played its role of filling up the gap in the law in such situations. Time and again it has granted relief to foreign companies who are yet to register their marks in India even though the defendant had registered its mark. In N.R Dongre v. Whirlpool Corporation[4], injunction was granted in favour of Whirlpool Corporation based on the fact that although their mark was not renewed, they had gained enough goodwill and reputation in the Indian market which was being wrongly used by the defendant.
The problem then arises with the mid-sized companies. There are about 40 marks in the latest trademark journal published by the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademark which are deceptively similar or rather have been ‘copied’ from the trademark of some foreign company, big or small. Till now, the trend has been to provide no relief to companies having without any trans-border reputation. The Intellectual Property Appellate Board rejected the opposition posed by the appellant in Kraft Jacobs Sucharc Ltd. v. Government of India by Secretary[8] on the ground that the opponent did not have any presence in the Indian market and did not intend to come to do business here in the near future.
The road ahead
The Court has definitely observed in the Jolen Inc. case[9] “even if it is assumed that such advertisements or marks do not travel beyond the borders of the countries where the plaintiff has the business, still it has a right to protect its reputation and goodwill. It is more so where the trade name has been pirated in totality and not by way of having deceptive or confusing similarity.” The Supreme Court in Milment Oftho Industries & Ors. v. Allergan Inc.[10] held that non-use in India would be irrelevant if the plaintiff was the first in the world market. However, the decision carried a word of caution that foreign brand owners who have no intention of coming to or introducing their product in India will not be allowed to stifle an Indian company by not permitting it to sell a product in India, if the Indian company has genuinely adopted the mark.
Therefore, if it can be shown that the defendant had adopted the complete mark knowing very well that another company of some other country has already adopted that mark, then mala fide on part of the Indian company can be argued.
Now, the Indian courts have been conservative in their approach and constantly relied upon the circulation of magazines, journals and extent of Indian travellers going abroad while deciding these types of cases.
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http://agrawalandcompany.blogspot.in/2012/06/passing-off-action-by-mid-size-foreign.html
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http://www.agarwalandco.com/

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Points to remember before purchasing a Re-Sale property | LinkedIn

Points to remember before purchasing a Re-Sale property

Consult Experts:

It may be ideal to engage a good real estate agent to locate a resale property. He would be in a position to locate sellers as well as guide you regarding the price of such properties in different localities. They would also be in a position to tell you about the seller of the property. Most real estate agents charge a fee and also help with registration, payment of stamp duty and other paper work involved in the purchase of resale property. In addition, taking the help of a good lawyer would also help to make sure that things are clear legally also.

Title of the property:

It will help engaging experts like real estate agents and lawyers to help you, but it is always better to be well-informed yourself when entering into deals for buying resale property. The first step in this regard would be to establish the title of the seller; whether he is the real owner of the property or has been given the power of attorney to transact the deal. All the documents with regard to the property need to be clear. In addition you need to make sure that all the original documents with regard to the property that were given by the builder or original developer are in order.

Documents:

Buying resale property seems great, but it could become a big problem if the documents regarding the original purchase and subsequent transfer of title are not properly stamped. Firstly it could pose great problems especially if you want to apply for a loan for purchase of the resale property. Subsequently it could prove to be unacceptable in case you wish to transact further on the property.

Existing Loan:

It is also necessary to make sure that the property documents are not lying mortgaged in the bank’s custody against a loan taken by the seller. The bank will consider a loan only once the loan taken by the seller is repaid and the documents released.

Loan Eligibility:

Buying a resale property would definitely provide you with a bigger space in case of older properties. However it is best to note that some banks may not lend money on buildings older than 10 years. This may be due to the reason that they may not want to take the risk of the price of the property going down. Banks also make sure to ensure that the bank’s outstanding loan should always be lower than the value of the property in the market.

Property Valuation:

Next it is imperative to note that the loan amount is highly dependent on the cost of the property. Technical experts would evaluate the property. However it would be useful to yourself avail the services of a property valuator at a small fee before approaching the banks. The bank’s property valuator may valuate the property at a much lower rate. They would also like to safeguard their interests against the fall in the price of the property in future.

More Down Payment:

Most banks wish to make sure that you be responsible for the maintenance and good upkeep of the resale property. So banks would expect you as the purchaser of the resale property to pay a certain percentage of the price as down payment. You may have to pay about 20% of the price as down payment; property of 50 lakhs requires 10 lakh as down payment.

Age of the property:

This down payment could be more in case of older properties. In addition, banks usually lend only on properties that are unto 50 years old. The tenure of the loan also decreases with the age of the property.

Flat Society:

The bank may grant the loan and you may make the down payment, but there could be another problem. It arises out of the need for some Flat societies that require the payment of a heavy price for change of ownership. It is best to consider this cost also when coming to a conclusion while purchasing resale property in cooperative and other societies.
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http://agrawalandcompany.blogspot.in/2012/06/points-to-remember-before-purchasing-re.html
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http://www.agarwalandco.com/ 

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