In short: empty property owned by someone abroad is a target: a forged sale deed or power of attorney, a caretaker or tenant who stops paying and claims rights, a relative who takes over, or land fenced in by someone else. Keep the property mutated and taxed in your name, avoid broad powers of attorney, check the records every year, and act within six months of any dispossession. If a forged deed is registered, file a police complaint and a civil suit to cancel it, and ask the court to stop any further sale.
How to prevent problems
- Records in your name: mutation and property tax in your own name, paid online every year.
- Yearly checks: an encumbrance certificate or online registration search, to see that nothing has been registered on your property.
- Powers of attorney: give only specific ones, for a fixed purpose and period, and formally revoke old ones, notifying the sub-registrar.
- Tenants and caretakers: a written, registered lease or leave and licence agreement, police verification, rent by bank transfer, and no handing over of original documents.
- Original deeds: keep them in a bank locker or with your advocate, and keep scanned copies.
- Visits: visit, or have a trusted person or your advocate inspect, at regular intervals, with photographs.
If someone forges a deed or sells your property
- Get certified copies of the registered document from the sub-registrar.
- Police complaint for forgery, cheating and impersonation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita; if the police do not act, apply to the magistrate.
- Civil suit to declare your title and cancel the forged deed (Section 31 of the Specific Relief Act), with an injunction stopping any further sale or construction.
- Caveat and public notice: a caveat in the local court so you are heard before any order, and a newspaper notice warning buyers.
- Object to any mutation based on the forged deed.
If someone occupies the property
Do not use force. Send a legal notice, and if they do not leave, file a suit for possession. Within six months of being dispossessed, a summary suit under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act restores possession without proving title. A tenant who stays on after the lease ends can be evicted through the rent authority or court. See illegal possession and eviction.
Most of these steps can be taken while you stay abroad: an advocate in India files the complaint and the suit, and you sign the papers before the embassy or a notary.
Questions people ask
Someone sold my property in India using a fake power of attorney. What can I do?
Get a certified copy of the sale deed, file a police complaint for forgery and cheating, and file a civil suit to cancel the deed with an injunction against further sale. A forged deed does not give the buyer a valid title.
How can an NRI check whether their property has been sold or mortgaged?
Take an encumbrance certificate or search the state's online registration records for the property, and check the mutation and tax records. Doing this every year catches fraud early.
My caretaker or relative refuses to leave my house in India. What can I do from abroad?
Your advocate can send a legal notice and file a suit for possession or eviction. Within six months of dispossession, a quick possession suit is available. You need not travel for most of the case.
Can someone claim my property by adverse possession while I am abroad?
Only by openly occupying it against you for 12 years. Regular visits, rent agreements, tax payments and prompt action defeat such claims.
Need help with a property matter?
PKS Legal advocates have practised since 1980. We are based in Kolkata and advise clients from across India by phone and video call. Tell us about your matter and an advocate will get back to you.
Become a ClientCall +91 81001 21141This guide gives general information about the law in India as on 11 November 2026. It is not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Rules and limits change; please take advice on your own facts.