PANAJI
Land grab accused Suleman Khan alias Siddique, already under investigation for a string of alleged illegal property deals, faces a major legal setback with a local court nullifying a bunch of sale deeds – executed over 15 years ago.
While declaring the 13 sale deeds linked to a massive 10,100 sq meters plot in Tivim as “null and void”, the Bicholim Civil Court ruled the original sale was itself based on fraudulent power of attorney dated March 14, 2007.
In its order, copy of which is in possession of The Goan, Civil Judge (Senior Division) Anuradha Andrade also held that Khan, who acquired the land from one Michael Alvares, had no rights, title or interest to convey the property to subsequent purchasers.
The order comes in response to a petition by Maria Libereta Fonseca, who alleged that the transactions were carried out using forged documents, including a power of attorney purportedly signed by persons who were long dead.
Before moving the Civil Court, Fonseca had filed a complaint of cheating at the Mapusa police station in November 2008. In her complaint, she alleged that Eric Paul Mendes, Michael Alvares, and Khan conspired to forge the power of attorney of her ancestors, who had passed away years earlier. Based on this document, she claimed, the accused executed sale deeds and transferred the property to several buyers.
As per documents submitted to the Court during the hearings, the plot known as “Barachi” under survey no 466/6 was jointly owned by Luis Xavier Martino, Maria Victoria Gonsalves and Sunny Fonseca. The plaintiff claimed co-ownership of the land by inheritance -- a claim the court found to be prima facie valid.
She had claimed the fraudulent Power of Attorney was allegedly signed on March 14, 2007 by five persons including Martino and Joaquim Fonseca -- both of whom had died decades earlier, in 1979 and 1993 respectively. The document also falsely described Gonsalves, who died in 1924, as Martino’s wife. These fabrications, she alleged, formed the basis for the illegal sale of the land.
“The plaintiff is a co-owner of the suit property... Luis Xavier Martino expired on September 25, 1979 in Mumbai and Joaquim Fonseca expired on October 14, 1993,” lawyer Galileo Teles, representing the plaintiff, stated during the hearing.
Teles further submitted that the notary before whom the sale deeds were allegedly executed had testified that the transactions were never carried out before him and did not appear in his official register. “His signatures were forged,” the lawyer stated.
The Civil Judge, accepting the submission, observed that it was hard to believe that the executants had signed the PoA in March 2007 when the death and burial certificates made things clear.
“The said sale deed through which the defendants themselves are claiming a right to the suit property reveals that the said Maria Victoria Gonsalves was a co-owner of the suit property. In the sale deed, she is shown as the wife of Luis Xavier Martino which fact is also pleaded by some of the defendants in their written statement. However, the said fact has not been proved by the defendants. On the other hand, the plaintiff has produced documentary evidence to show that Maria Victoria Gonsalves is the grandmother of her husband,” reads the order.
The Court further stated the plaintiff had proven her status as a rightful co-owner and that the defendants had “miserably failed” to establish any lawful claim.
Interestingly, the Court during the filing of the plea in 2009, had passed an injunction order banning the construction, development and further sale of the plots.
