Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Corporate Affairs

04-September-2012 17:26 IST

CLB Action Streamlines Notarial Malpractices in NCT Delhi

Company Law Board while passing an order in the matter of Shri Rupak Gupta & Others Vs. M/s. Banaras House Pvt. Limited has taken a very serious note of the serious breach of duty by Notaries in the capital while attesting affidavits (like affidavits having blank spaces, non disclosure of the identity of the person signing the affidavits, notarization in the absence of the deponents and cases of false impersonation and false identification of deponent. .

In a press release issued by CLB it has been stated that Justice D.R. Deshmukh Chairman of CLB while deciding the aforesaid petition has directed the Chief Secretary, National capital Territory of Delhi to initiate immediate disciplinary action for cancellation of license of Mr. Ashok Kumar, Notary Public, Chamber No. B-112, BGS Block, Tis Hazari Courts, New Delhi–110 064 and Mr. Dipankar Das, Notary Public, Registration No. 916, 14, Lawyers Chamber, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi and to send a report to the Company Law Board of having done so. In one of the cases the notary had even attested the affidavit of a lady being deposed and signed by a man and indentified as such.

The Chief Secretary, NCT of Delhi has also further been directed to issue directions to all Notaries functioning in the NCT of Delhi to ensure that they shall obtain the signature and full details of not only the deponents but also the person indentifying such deponent in the Notary Register and the Notary shall affix his seal and signature on each page of the document/ petition being deposed to in the affidavits.

The Chief Secretary, NCT of Delhi has also been directed to forward a copy of such instructions to the Company Law Board at an early date.

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ST/-

Notarial malpractice reform: administrative directives to discipline errant notaries and tighten identity verification and recordkeeping procedures. The Company Law Board addressed multiple breaches in affidavit attestation by notaries-blank spaces, non disclosure of signatory identity, notarization without deponents, and false identification-and directed the Chief Secretary, NCT of Delhi to initiate disciplinary action against identified notaries and to issue instructions requiring notaries to record signatures and full details of deponents and identifiers in the Notary Register and to affix their seal and signature on each page of attested documents, with a report to be sent to the Board.