Powers-of-Attorney Act, 1882

The Powers-of-Attorney Act, 1882 is an old but still-used law that gives legal certainty to actions taken by someone (an "attorney" or "donee") acting under another person's (the "donor's") power of attorney. Section 2 confirms that the donee may sign documents and take actions in their own name and with their own seal, and these are just as legally effective as if the donor themselves had signed and sealed them — this applies to powers of attorney created either before or after the Act came into force.

Section 3 protects third parties: if someone makes a payment or does an act in good faith under a power of attorney, they are not liable just because, unknown to them at the time, the donor had actually died, become of unsound mind, gone bankrupt or insolvent, or revoked the power beforehand. However, this protection doesn't erase the rights of the person who was truly entitled to that money — they can still recover it from whoever actually received the payment, the same way they could have recovered it from the person who paid it.

Section 4 lets a power of attorney (with its execution verified by affidavit or similar evidence) be formally deposited with the relevant High Court, kept on a searchable file, with certified copies available on request; a certified copy is treated as sufficient proof of the instrument's contents and its deposit, without further evidence being needed.

Section 5 confirms that a married woman — whether a minor or not — has the same power as an unmarried adult to appoint an attorney for herself, though a later amendment clarifies this specific section does not apply to a Muslim married woman (since Muslim personal law already recognises her full legal capacity to do so). This is a foundational, still-relevant commercial and civil law, though its age (1882) means some provisions have been repealed or amended and should be checked against the current text.