MOHD SUFFIAN BIN DAUD v ROSHAMIDI BIN HALIM

Case Significance

Illustrates what constitutes a caveatable interest under the National Land Code, holding that a power of attorney granted after an auction confers none, and confirms the remedy in damages and cancellation under section 327 available to a successful auction purchaser against a baseless private caveat.

This High Court decision concerns an application to remove a private caveat under section 327 of the National Land Code, lodged by a person whose only asserted interest arose from a power of attorney given after the land had been sold at auction. The plaintiff had bought the property at a public auction, submitting the successful bid, and had financed the purchase through an Islamic bank, paying the balance of the price. The property's former registered owner had charged it to a bank, and the sale followed. After the plaintiff had paid the full price, the defendant lodged a private caveat against the title. The plaintiff applied for an order that the caveat be cancelled under section 327, for an injunction restraining the defendant from lodging further caveats, and for damages for the wrongful caveat. The court examined whether the defendant held any caveatable interest in the land. It found that the defendant's claim rested only on a power of attorney granted to him after the auction, at which the plaintiff was already the successful bidder, and that this did not confer any caveatable interest capable of supporting a private caveat. The plaintiff, as the aggrieved successful purchaser who had paid the price and was entitled to a fresh title free of subsequent encumbrances, had made out the application on the balance of probabilities. The court held that the defendant's lodgement of the caveat was baseless and contrary to law, an unlawful obstruction of the plaintiff's rights, and ordered the caveat cancelled, awarding special damages of RM30,070.02 and costs of RM2,000.00. The defendant filed a notice of appeal. The judgment is a useful illustration of what constitutes a caveatable interest, and of the remedy available to a successful auction purchaser against a caveat lodged without any supporting interest in the land.