Advocate Rajagopalan

Questions Answered by Advocate Rajagopalan

Q: Illegal construction of penthouse on the terrace 15 years ago

Hello, I am an owner of a flat in an apartment society in Baghamberpet, Hyderabad, and am also one of the committee members of the society. There is an unauthorized and illegal penthouse constructed by the builder himself more than 15 years back and was subsequently sold to the current owner. The current owner happens to be the secretary of the society too. My query is...can a case be filed against this illegal construction and can we request the municipal authorities to demolish the illegal construction? This particular penthouse was constructed illegally more than 15 years ago. Does an illegal construction become legal automatically after a certain period if the authorities have failed to take action till now? problems with penthouses in hyderabad so Where and how do we lodge a complaint or file a case?

Advocate Rajagopalan answered
HiAn illegal construction will always be illegal irrespective of passage of time. Even if it is an illegal construction, Municipality as per law might be levying property tax along with penalty for unauthorised construction(UAC).Please note that payment of municipal property tax DOES NOT MEAN that the construction of pent house has been legalised. The fact that the state government of Telangana has introduced Building Regularisation scheme , which is an amnesty scheme for irregular and illegal constructions, the owner of the pent house should make an application for building regularisation under BRS scheme.Also since the introduction of Building Regularisation scheme, many illegal constructions are taking umbrage under the said BRS and getting injunction orders against demolition at the drop of the hat. So in the given scenario, the best option would be is to regularise the illegal pent house construction without altering the undivided share of land of other flat owners.

Q: How to change village name in india ?

I am from Andhra Pradesh West Godavari My Village People want to change the Name of the village Can anyone tell me how to change village name and to whom we have to aproach and what are the necessary things we have to do?

Advocate Rajagopalan answered
Hiyou have to approach the Revenue DIvisional officer and Collector. You should get the representation signed by the people, panchayat/gram sabha and forward it to Revenue Divisional officer who in turn will forward it to collector. Collector will forward the report to Government and government will order an public hearing and if majority concur for change of name, then will pass resolution to change the name either through Assembly or through gazette. The process will take 18 months time and can be speeded up if you have any ruling party politician supportive of your cause.

Q: How to remove mortgage from title documents ?

My dad has kept property under registered mortgage in 2002. he has paid some amount without document proof. the mortgagee is unable to produce the registered document since 2007. now can u please explain the procedure to remove his name from EC, how to cancel registered mortgage deed ? Im ready to pay the amount till 2007. also please tell me the validity of this deed as i heard that it is valid only form 12 years from each repayment. Is it true?

Advocate Rajagopalan answered
HiA mortgage deed has to be cancelled jointly by both the parties. You can always get a certified copy of the mortgage deed from sub registrar office and then prepare a cancellation deed. technically a mortgage deed gets automatically renewed for 12 years from every single instance of payment. Assuming you have last paid in the year 2004 and afterwards you have not made any payment, then the mortgage deed will automatically expire by end of 2016. So within this period, the mortgage should have initiated suit for recovery of money failing which the mortgage will automatically expire and you as mortgagor should approach the courts for cancellation of mortgage (if mortgagee does not come forward to cancel the mortgage),So if you have already repaid the amount, the mortgagee is duty bound to cancel the mortgage. if you and the mortgagee agree that the debt is repaid in full, you can execute a cancellation deed and get the same registered. Actually there is no need for original mortgage deed if both the parties agree for cancellation.

Q: Unable to pay personal loans, how to put ip for loans ?

Hi, I lost my job, I have a 15 lakhs of personal loans, got married recently, not in a position to pay the liabilities to the top banks. Can I put for insolvency petition for personal loan ? , What is the procedure for that?

Advocate Rajagopalan answered
HiProcedure:1) An insolvency petition has to be filed either by the debtor himself or a creditor of the debtor in an insolvency court (District Court)2) For an insolvency petition to be accepted by the court, the amount of debt must be more than Rs. 500.3) On the admission of petition by the court, a date of hearing is fixed.4) An interim receiver is appointed by the court to take immediate possession of the property of the debtor. He continues to function till a regular officer is appointed.5) On the date of hearing, the court if satisfied that the petition is reasonable shall make an order of adjudication.6) After the passing of the ‘order of adjudication’, the debtor becomes an ‘undischarged insolvent’. After this declaration, all his property is vested in an officer called ‘Official Assignee’ under the Presidency Towns Insolvency Act and ‘Official Receiver’ under the Provincial Insolvency Act, appointed by the court to conduct insolvency proceedings.7) It then becomes the Official Assignee’s duty to sell the property of the insolvent within a reasonable period of time.8) Whatever money is generated in the form of sale proceeds is then distributed among the creditors.9) After the process of distribution is completed, the insolvent is required to collect a certificate of ‘absolute discharge’ which is granted only when it is proved that the insolvency resulted due to misfortune and not because of any dishonest or unscrupulous behavior on part of the debtor. Another point taken into consideration is the behavior of the debtor during the insolvency proceedings which must have been satisfactory.10) On the award of ‘absolute discharge certificate’, the remaining, unpaid debts of the debtor are cancelled and he cannot be forced or threatened by any creditor to repay the debt amount

Q: Can grandparents adopt their grandchildren ?

Can maternal Hindu grandparents adopt their grandson who don't posses their own son(s)?

Advocate Rajagopalan answered
Hi Yes. The Hindu law places stringent conditions and prohibits adoption of a child of the same gender where an adoptive father or mother already have a child living at that timeExample: 1) if any adoption is of a son, the adoptive father or mother by whom the adoption is made must not have a Hindu son, son's son or son's son's son(whether by legitimate blood relationship or by adoption) living at the time of adoption; 2) the child to be adopted must be actually given and taken in adoption by the parents or guardian concerned or under their authority with intent to transfer the child from the family of its birth or in the case of an abandoned child or achild whose parentage is not known, from the place or family where it has been brought up to the family of its adoption.ADOPTION SHOULD BE REGISTERED.