Hari Ram was the perpetual lessee of the property under the perpetual lease-deed March 30, 1963 executed in his favour by the Land & Development Officer, which was registered by the Sub-Registrar New Delhi on April 16, 1963. On his death, 10 legal heirs were substituted as perpetual lease in the office of Land & Development Officer evinced by letter dated September 20, 1982 written by the Land & Development Officer. The 10 legal heirs executed a power of attorney on May 31, 1983 in favour of Ashok Sirpaul. In the letter dated October 12/19, 1990 written by Ashok Sirpaul to the bank in his capacity as Director of the company he offered to create a charge over the property after it was transferred in the name of the company i.e. wrote that the company would consent to the charge being created and would deposit the title deed in the name of the company. Ashok Sirpaul did not follow up this letter and neither the bank insisted on the follow up action. The letter written by Anil Sirpaul would be his consent and act of creating the charge by way of an equitable mortgage by deposit of the perpetual lease-deed dated March 30, 1963, for which he did not have the authority because there were ten legal heirs of the perpetual lessee whose names were entered in the record of Land & Development Office as the perpetual lessees. The bank remained totally negligent. Everything was done unofficially as if it was a family affair. Further, by the year 1990 dawning, as noted above, much prior thereto, on June 23, 1986, acting on the strength of general power of attorney dated May 31, 1983, Ashok Sirpaul had executed a sale deed in favour of Anil Sirpaul and had the bank bothered to inspect the record of the Sub-Registrar which the bank was obliged to do, it would have dawned on the bank that Ashok Sirpaul could not, acting under the power of attorney dated May 31, 1983 offered to create a charge over the property by depositing the perpetual lease-deed dated March 30, 1963. He had no authority to write to the bank that as the general power of attorney holder of the ten recorded perpetual lessees he would convey the property in the name of the company and secured a charge by depositing the said title deed. As regards Anil Sirpaul, if he was to create the charge over the property by deposit of title deed, it had to be the saledeed dated June 23, 1986 which was duly registered with the Sub-Registrar, Delhi.”
