COMPLAINT TO THE PUNJAB STATE COMMISSION FOR NON-RESIDENT INDIANS

Under the Punjab State Commission for Non-resident Indians Act, 2011 (Punjab Act No. 33 of 2011), notified in the Punjab Gazette on 29 November 2011

Complaint No. ________ of 20____ (to be allotted by the office of the Commission)

To,

The Chairperson and Members,
Punjab State Commission for Non-Resident Indians,
Block A, Room No. 6, Punjab Civil Secretariat-2,
Sector 9, Chandigarh.

Complainant: __________, presently of __________.

Respondents: as named in clause 3 of this complaint.

Subject: Complaint in respect of __________, concerning __________ situated at __________, Tehsil __________, District __________, Punjab.

Respected Sir / Madam,

1. The complainant, and how this Commission may reach him

1.1 Who I am. I, __________, __________, am __________. I ordinarily reside at __________, in __________, and I hold passport bearing No. __________, a copy of the first and last pages whereof is annexed to this complaint.

1.2 Where to write to me. My email address is __________, and I respectfully request that every notice, every date of hearing, every direction and the final recommendation of this Commission be sent to it, because post to an overseas address is slow and a hearing date that reaches me after the hearing has passed is of no use to me. My address for service in India is __________.

2. Why this complaint lies before this Commission, and what I do not ask of it

2.1 The Commission's remit, and my standing before it. This Commission is constituted under the Punjab State Commission for Non-resident Indians Act, 2011 (Punjab Act No. 33 of 2011), notified in the Punjab Gazette on 29 November 2011, to protect and safeguard the interests of non-resident Indians in the State of Punjab and to recommend remedial measures for their welfare. I am __________, and I say that I fall within the class of persons for whose protection this Commission is constituted. If the Commission requires me to establish that standing by reference to the definition clause of the Act, I crave leave to place further material on record and to be heard upon it. Both the property and the grievance to which this complaint relates lie wholly within the State of Punjab, and no part of this complaint concerns property outside Punjab.

2.2 The powers I invoke. I am aware, and I record it here so that there is no misunderstanding later, that this Commission has all the powers of a civil court trying a suit in respect of summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath, requiring the discovery and production of documents, receiving evidence on affidavit, requisitioning any public record from any court or office, and issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses. It is on that footing, and on no wider footing, that I ask in clause 9 for the respondents to be summoned and for the revenue, estate and police record to be requisitioned.

2.3 The limits I accept. I am equally aware that what this Commission makes at the conclusion of an inquiry is a recommendation and not a decree. It is not executable. It does not bind the State Government or the police. By itself it restores no possession, cancels no instrument and corrects no entry. I therefore do not ask this Commission to declare my title, to cancel any deed, to set aside any mutation, to pass a decree for possession or mesne profits, or to award damages or costs, because none of that lies within its powers. Relief of that kind lies in a suit — for cancellation of a void or voidable instrument under sections 31 to 34 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, or for possession upon title — and I understand that the periods of limitation prescribed by the Limitation Act, 1963, including three years from the date of knowledge to set aside an instrument and twelve years for possession based on title, continue to run while this complaint is pending and are neither suspended nor extended by it. What I ask of this Commission is set out in clause 9 and nothing beyond it.

3. The respondents

3.1 Who is complained against. The persons complained against, with their addresses for service of summons, are —

__________

3.2 Service and production. I pray that summons be issued to each of the respondents named above at the address given against his name, that each be required to appear, and that each be required to produce the originals of every document he sets up in answer to this complaint, as prayed in clause 9.

4. The property

4.1 Description. The property to which this complaint relates is __________, and its particulars are as follows —

5. How the property came to me

5.1 The root of my interest. I hold the said property __________. The particulars are these — __________

5.2 My holding is lawful notwithstanding that I live abroad. I anticipate the answer, commonly made in matters of this kind, that a person residing outside India cannot hold this property. That answer is wrong. Under the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 and Reserve Bank of India FED Master Direction No. 12/2015-16 on Acquisition and Transfer of Immovable Property, updated as on 6 June 2022, a non-resident Indian or an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder may acquire by purchase any immovable property other than agricultural land, plantation property or a farm house, and may under paragraphs 3.1.3 and 3.1.4 of that Master Direction acquire any immovable property whatsoever — agricultural land included — by inheritance from a person who acquired it lawfully. My holding falls within that permission, and nothing in the foreign exchange law puts the said property at the disposal of the respondents.

5.3 Possession before the acts complained of. Until the acts set out in clause 6 I was, by myself or through my family or my lessee, in peaceful possession and enjoyment of the said property, and no person had any right to disturb that possession.

6. The facts

6.1 Narrative. The facts giving rise to this complaint, in the order in which they occurred, are these —

__________

6.2 Continuing injury. The acts complained of are continuing. Every season that passes takes the produce, rent or use of the said property away from me, and every month that the record stands as it does increases the risk that the property will be dealt with in favour of a third person who will then claim to be a purchaser without notice.

7. What has already been tried

7.1 The following is a complete account of the steps taken before approaching this Commission. Where a head below does not appear, no such step was taken, and I say so plainly rather than leaving the position to be inferred.

7.2 No step recorded above has produced any redress, and where no head appears above it is because no such step could usefully be taken from the country in which I live, for the reasons appearing in clause 6. It is that failure, and not any wish to bypass the ordinary authorities, that brings me before this Commission.

8. Proceedings pending or decided

8.1 Declaration. __________

8.2 Particulars. __________

8.3 No interference with any court is sought. I do not ask this Commission to sit in appeal over, to review, to stay or in any manner to interfere with any proceeding pending before or decided by any court, tribunal or revenue authority. If any relief sought in clause 9 appears to this Commission to trespass upon a matter that is sub judice, I pray that such relief be treated as not pressed and that the remainder of the complaint be inquired into.

9. What I pray this Commission to do

9.1 Principal prayer. I most respectfully pray __________.

9.2 Further prayers. I further pray as follows — __________

9.3 Procedural prayers. I additionally pray —

— that the respondents named in clause 3 be summoned and examined on oath in respect of the matters set out in clause 6;

— that the respondents be required to produce the originals of every instrument they set up in answer to this complaint, including any sale deed, agreement to sell, gift deed, relinquishment deed, will or power of attorney;

— that, being resident abroad and unable to attend at Chandigarh on every date, I be permitted to appear and be heard through video conference;

— that a copy of every report, reply or comment received from any authority upon this complaint be furnished to me at my email address before the matter is finally considered; and

— that such further or other recommendation be made as this Commission may consider just and proper in the circumstances of this case.

10. Verification

10.1 I, __________, the complainant above named, do hereby verify that the contents of clauses 1 to 9 of this complaint are true and correct to my knowledge derived from my own personal knowledge and from the records annexed hereto, that no part of it is false, that nothing material has been concealed, and that the annexures filed with it are true copies of their originals.

Verified at __________ on __________.

_________________________
__________
Complainant

11. Schedule of annexures

__________

ANNEXURE A — AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF THE COMPLAINT

BEFORE THE PUNJAB STATE COMMISSION FOR NON-RESIDENT INDIANS, SECTOR 9, CHANDIGARH

In the matter of the complaint of __________ concerning __________ situated at __________, Tehsil __________, District __________, Punjab.

I, __________, __________, holder of passport No. __________, resident of __________, do hereby solemnly affirm and declare as under —

1. That I am the complainant in the accompanying complaint and am __________.

2. That the said property, being __________ measuring __________ situated at __________, Tehsil __________, District __________, Punjab, is held by me __________, and I am entitled to it.

3. That the facts set out in clause 6 of the accompanying complaint are true to my own knowledge, save where they are stated to be derived from the records or from information received from others, and those are believed by me to be true.

4. That I have neither executed nor authorised any person to execute on my behalf any sale deed, agreement to sell, gift deed, relinquishment deed, will or power of attorney transferring or agreeing to transfer the said property or any part or share of it to any of the respondents or to any person claiming through them, save such instrument, if any, as is expressly described in the accompanying complaint.

5. That the declaration made in clause 8 of the accompanying complaint as to proceedings pending or decided is true and complete, and that I have concealed no proceeding relating to the said property from this Commission.

6. That the documents annexed to the complaint are true copies of their originals, and that I shall produce the originals before this Commission or before any authority to whom this Commission may refer the matter, as and when required.

7. That I make this affidavit in support of the accompanying complaint and for no other purpose.

_________________________
DEPONENT
__________

VERIFICATION: Verified that the contents of paragraphs 1 to 7 of this affidavit are true and correct to my knowledge, that no part of it is false and that nothing material has been concealed therein.

Sworn and affirmed at __________ on __________ before __________.

Notarial / attestation endorsement, register entry number and seal:

_________________________

Note for the deponent: this affidavit is chargeable under Article 4 of Schedule I-A to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. Where it is sworn outside India it must be stamped within three months of the day it is first received in India, as section 18 of that Act requires. Punjab issues non-judicial stamp electronically through SHCIL, and an affidavit is one of the five non-registrable documents for which a dematerialised digital e-stamp may be taken through NeSL under the Punjab E-Stamp Rules, 2014; generate the certificate in the deponent's own name. The Commission sits at premises in the Union Territory, whose Schedule I-A is a separate schedule from Punjab's, so ask the Registry at Room No. 6 which stamp it wants before you buy either.