POWER OF ATTORNEY – BANK OF BENGAL VS. RAMANATHAN (By-Prudhivi Renuka Sai)
A power of
attorney is a legal document that allows someone, the principal, to empower
another person. Generally, their lawyer or a close family member acts on their
behalf. It is unnecessary for the person acting as the agent to be a member of
the legal profession or have any prior legal knowledge. This may be a helpful
tool for those who don’t want to relinquish control of their daily lives.The
agent is allowed to do, and what limitations may be placed on those powers are
laid forth in an adequately prepared power of attorney. Because of these constraints,
principals may prevent disputes and litigation that may arise if they provide
an agent with excessive authority. This might lead to a legal struggle if a
power of attorney isn’t explicit enough.
It’s possible to give an
agent limited authority over the principal’s money or health care by creating a
specific power of attorney on their behalf. An extraordinary power of attorney
may limit the agent’s authority in particular areas, such as allowing him to
sell only a certain number of stocks or allowing him to travel only inside a
specific geographic region. Savings account withdrawals may be restricted, but
credit cards and other charge accounts are not likely to be affected in any
way. As long as the separate document is signed and witnessed by at least two
persons, it may be used as a “special power of attorney” in addition to a
standard power of attorney.[1]
It is unnecessary to have
a witness sign a specific power of attorney. It doesn’t even have to be written
down. Simply orally appointing an agent and informing them of any restrictions
on their ability may suffice.In India, a power of attorney is a critical legal
instrument that enables one person to act on behalf of another in court. If you
have any investments, businesses, or other assets, you may wish to nominate
someone else as your power of attorney.When the donor signs a power of attorney
granting authority to the attorney named in the document, it becomes legally
enforceable. Signing the Power of Attorney (POA) requires the donor to appear before
a notary public or a lawyer. As long as the donor is not in the room, they do
not need to sign at this time.
The POA allows lawyers to
represent the donor in legal proceedings and do specific tasks on the donor’s
behalf, such as registering a corporation or purchasing a property or property.
In this
article, the author
examined how the idea of power of attorney has evolved over the last decade in
light of a critical privy council decision from 1915 in the case of Bank of
Bengal v Ramanathan AIR 1915 PC 121. The concept of power of attorney under
various laws, including the Indian evidence act, has changed. The ratio is
given in the above case still stands.