A great deal of everyday legal trouble is created by documents that were downloaded, filled in and signed without anyone reading them properly. Drafting is the least costly stage of any dispute. This page covers the documents most often asked for — agreements, affidavits and powers of attorney — and what actually needs thought in each.
Agreements
Leave and licence agreements for residential and commercial premises are the most common request in Mumbai. The points that matter are the licence period and renewal, the deposit and how it is refunded, who pays which outgoings, what happens on early termination, and registration — a leave and licence agreement is required to be registered, and an unregistered document is of limited use when it is needed. Where the premises belong to a public trust, there is a further question entirely: a lease of a building or non-agricultural land beyond three years requires prior sanction under Section 36, and a chain of short renewals is not a way around it.
Partnership deeds need to deal with capital, profit sharing, the authority of each partner, admission and retirement, what happens on death, and how accounts are settled — and with how disputes are resolved, which is the clause nobody reads until it matters.
Confidentiality agreements need a definition of confidential information that is neither so narrow it protects nothing nor so wide it is unworkable, a realistic duration, and carve-outs for information already public or independently developed.
Service and vendor agreements should be clear about scope, payment terms, what happens when the work changes, ownership of what is produced, and termination. Most commercial disputes turn on one of those four.
Affidavits
An affidavit is a statement of facts sworn or affirmed before an authority competent to administer an oath. The common uses are proof of address or identity, a declaration of a change of name, a statement of relationship, a declaration of income or dependency, and affidavits filed in proceedings.
Two things are worth saying. First, an affidavit states facts, not arguments or opinions; a document that reads as advocacy is a weaker document. Second, it is sworn — a false statement in an affidavit is not a harmless convenience, and people are sometimes encouraged to treat it as one. What goes into an affidavit should be true, within the deponent’s own knowledge, and expressed in terms the deponent can stand behind.
Powers of attorney
A power of attorney authorises someone to act on your behalf, and its scope is exactly what the document says it is — no more, and no less.
- A general power confers wide authority. It is convenient and it is the one most often regretted, because the holder can do a great deal without going back to the grantor.
- A special power is confined to a defined purpose — a particular transaction, a particular property, a particular proceeding. For most purposes this is the right instrument.
- Powers concerning immovable property raise questions of stamp duty and registration that depend on what is being authorised. This is not an area for a downloaded form.
Anyone executing a power of attorney should be clear about how it can be revoked, what happens if the grantor becomes unable to manage their affairs, and whether the holder can delegate to someone else. Those three points are omitted from most templates.
Stamping and registration
Stamp duty and registration requirements depend on the instrument and on Maharashtra law, and getting them wrong has consequences that surface later — an inadequately stamped document can face difficulty in being received in evidence, and an unregistered document that required registration may not achieve what the parties intended. It is worth establishing the requirement before signing rather than afterwards.
Notices
Where a document has been breached, the next step is usually a legal notice rather than a suit. A notice that states the facts, identifies the obligation and makes a clear demand resolves a substantial proportion of disputes without proceedings.
What to bring
- Any existing draft or earlier version of the document.
- Identity and address proof of everyone who will sign.
- For property documents: the title documents and details of the premises, and the owner’s status if a trust or society is involved.
- For a power of attorney: a clear statement of exactly what the holder should and should not be able to do.
- For an affidavit: the underlying records supporting the facts to be stated.
Discussing a matter
Consultations are at chambers at 704 Classic Building, Gate No. 8, Malwani MHADA, Malad (West), Mumbai 400095, by appointment. Telephone or send a message on WhatsApp to +91 99301 50560, or use the contact page.
This page describes procedure in general terms. It is not legal advice, and what applies in a particular matter depends on its own facts and on the law as it stands at the time.
Related guides
- NRI Legal Guide: Property, Power of Attorney and Documents From Abroad
- Making a Will in Mumbai: Witnesses, Registration and Probate
- Gift Deed in Maharashtra: Stamp Duty, Registration and Cancellation
- Leave and Licence Agreements in Maharashtra: Registration and Basics
This page describes general procedure and is published for information only, in keeping with Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules. It is not legal advice and does not solicit work. What applies to a particular matter depends on its own facts.