Power of Attorney & Agreement to Sell in UP: Risks for Buyers

Around fast-growing areas like the Yamuna Expressway, land is often “sold” without a registered sale deed, on a general power of attorney (GPA), a notarised agreement to sell, or a combination of papers that the seller says is as good as a registry. It is not. The Supreme Court has said so repeatedly, and Uttar Pradesh changed its stamp law in 2024 specifically to stop one version of the practice.

Key facts at a glance

Only a registered sale deed transfers ownership of immovable property worth ₹100 or more (Transfer of Property Act, Section 54)
An agreement to sell creates no interest in the property: at most, a right to sue for a sale deed
A power of attorney does not transfer title, even when it is called “irrevocable”
A power of attorney ends on the death of the person who gave it, unless it is coupled with an interest
In UP, a POA to sell given outside close family is charged stamp duty as on a sale deed since the 2024 amendment

What the law says

Transfer of Property Act, 1882, Section 54. A sale of tangible immovable property worth ₹100 or more can be made only by a registered instrument. A contract for sale does not, of itself, create any interest in or charge on the property.
Registration Act, 1908, Sections 17 and 49. Instruments creating rights in immovable property must be registered. An unregistered document that should have been registered cannot affect the property, though it can be used as evidence in a suit for specific performance. Since 2001, an agreement relied on for part-performance protection must itself be registered.
Indian Contract Act, 1872, Sections 201 and 202. An agency ends on the death of the principal. It continues only where the agent has an interest in the property itself.

What the Supreme Court has held

Case	What it decided
Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana (11 October 2011)	Sale-agreement, GPA and will transactions “do not convey title and do not amount to transfer”, and cannot be the basis for mutation. An agreement of sale, with or without possession, is not a conveyance; even an irrevocable attorney does not transfer title
Shakeel Ahmed v. Syed Akhlaq Hussain (1 November 2023)	No right, title or interest in immovable property can be conferred without a registered document; the argument that Suraj Lamp applies only to future cases was rejected
M.S. Ananthamurthy v. J. Manjula (27 February 2025)	Calling a POA “irrevocable” does not make it so; it is irrevocable only if coupled with an interest. The agency ended on the principal’s death
Ramesh Chand v. Suresh Chand (1 September 2025)	An agreement to sell does not confer title; a GPA does not become a transfer even if it authorises a sale

In Suraj Lamp the Court also made clear that genuine powers of attorney and sale agreements remain lawful for what they are, authority to act, and a contract to sell in future. The problem is treating them as a substitute for a sale deed.

What UP’s 2024 stamp amendment changed

Buyers used to take a registered power of attorney to sell, on nominal stamp duty, instead of a sale deed. The Indian Stamp (Uttar Pradesh Amendment) Bill, 2024 (passed by the UP Assembly in February 2024 and deemed in force from 28 December 2023) substituted Article 48 of the stamp schedule:

Power of attorney	Stamp duty in UP
To sell, given to specified family members (with proof of relationship)	₹5,000
To sell, given to anyone else	Same as a conveyance, on market value
Irrevocable, or given for consideration, authorising sale	Same as a conveyance, on market value

The specified family members are father, mother, husband, wife, son, daughter-in-law, daughter, son-in-law, brother, sister and grandchildren. The Bill’s statement of objects said sale POAs to non-family members had been registered on ₹50 stamp duty, and that plots allotted by development authorities were being transferred this way. Note that the stamp schedule hosted on igrsup.gov.in still shows the older Article 48 wording.

Separately, under the UP stamp schedule an agreement to sell under which possession is delivered is treated as a conveyance for stamp duty. Paying full duty on such an agreement still does not make it a transfer of title.

The practical risks

You are not the owner. The khatauni will not be mutated in your name on a GPA or agreement.
The seller can sell again. The recorded owner can execute a registered sale deed in favour of someone else.
Death ends the authority. If the person who gave the POA dies, the attorney’s authority usually ends, and you are left dealing with their heirs. See our guide to varasat.
You cannot easily resell. Your own buyer faces the same defect.
In the YEIDA area, the paperwork can be worse than weak. In 2025, police in the Tappal-Bajna area used the Gangsters Act against a racket reselling plots to several buyers using forged documents and fake YEIDA maps.

What a safe transfer looks like

Verify title on the khatauni and the UP Bhulekh portal, including every co-sharer.
Pay stamp duty on the correct value. See stamp duty and registry in UP and circle rates.
Execute and register a sale deed signed by every recorded owner, or by an attorney holding a valid, properly stamped POA from each owner who cannot attend.
Apply for mutation straight after registry.
For a YEIDA leasehold plot, transfer only with the Authority’s written permission. See resale versus new allotment.

Common questions

A general power of attorney does not transfer ownership. The Supreme Court held in Suraj Lamp (2011), and has reaffirmed since, that GPA, sale-agreement and will transactions do not convey title. Ownership passes only by a registered sale deed.

No. Under Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act, a contract for sale does not create any interest in the property. It gives, at most, a right to seek a sale deed through a suit for specific performance.

Under the 2024 amendment to Article 48, a POA to sell given to specified close family members attracts ₹5,000; a POA to sell given to anyone else, or an irrevocable POA or one given for consideration, attracts the same duty as a conveyance on the market value.

An agency ends on the death of the principal under Section 201 of the Contract Act, unless the agent has an interest in the property itself. The Supreme Court held in 2025 that simply calling a POA irrevocable does not make it so.

No. The Supreme Court held in Suraj Lamp that such transactions cannot be the basis for mutation in revenue records. Mutation follows a registered transfer or succession.

Please verify before you commit. This is general information, not legal advice. Engage a local advocate to examine the documents for any specific property before paying anything.

Offered land on a GPA or agreement? Talk to our team before you pay.

Buying Land on Power of Attorney or an Agreement to Sell in UP: Why It Is Risky, and What a Safe Transfer Looks Like