Registration Act 1980,

Supreme Court 1966 & Delhi

High Court, 1967

(Evaluation-1)

Submitted By-

Abhay Srivastava

B.ComLLB(H)

1805150001
Introduction

The Registration Act, 1908 deals with the enactments relating to the registration of
documents. Registration is the procedure through which all the documents are
recorded by a recognized officer along with other necessary information to ensure its
transparency and authenticity. Section 17(1) of the Act provides for mandatory
registration of certain documents which are as follows:

gift deed of immovable property

b) non-testamentary documents signifying any operation, declaration,

assignment, limitation and extinguishment of any right, title or interest in
immovable property worth rupees one hundred and above.

c) non-testamentary instruments granting receipt or payment of any consideration

on account of creation, limitation, assignment, declaration or termination of such
right, title or interest.

d) leases of such immovable property for a term exceeding one year or

reservation of yearly rent.

e) non-testamentary documents conveying or assigning any decree or award of

the court involving creation, declaration, assignment, limitation or extinguishment
of any right, title or interest in an immovable property worth rupee one hundred
and above.

f) The documents of contracts regarding transfer of any immovable property for

consideration for the purpose of section 53 A of The Transfer of Property Act,
1882 that has been executed on or after the inception of Registration and Other
Related Laws Amendment Act, 2001.

However, it must be noted that The State Government has the right to exclude
any lease executed in any district or part of a district, the terms granted by which
do not exceed five years and annual rents which do not exceed fifty rupees.
Optional registration of documents

Section 18 of this Act lists the following documents that may be registered under
this Act :-

a) Adoption Deed

b) Instruments which relate to share in Joint Stock company

c) Debenture issued by Joint Stock Company

d) Endorsement upon or Transfer of Debenture, which is issued by Joint Stock

Company.

e) Decree or order of the court involving creation, declaration, assignment and

extinguishment of any right, title or interest in an immovable property of value
less than one hundred rupees.

f) Document of Past transaction

g) Wills

h) Grant of immovable property by the Government.

i) Instrument of Collateral Security

j) Power of Attorney

k) Agreement to Sell

l) Agreement of Mortgage

m) Certificate of Sale

n) Counterpart of Lease

o) Promissory Note

p) Leases of immovable property not exceeding one year and leases excluded
under section 17.
When to register documents?

According to section 23 of this Act no documents except will shall be allowed for
registration unless it’s presented within four months from the date of its
execution. If the document is executed by several persons at different times, then
such document has to be furnished for registration and re-registration within four
months from the date of each execution (s.24).

If any document executed or decree made is not presented for registration within
the prescribed time period due to any unavoidable accident or urgent necessity
then the registrar may direct to present such document for registration within four
months with a payment of fine not exceeding ten times the amount of registration
fees. (s. 25).

An application must be made to the sub-registrar who shall forward it to the

Registrar to whom he is the subordinate. If a document, has been executed by
any of the parties outside India for registration after the expiry of the given time
period, then such document must be presented to the Registering Officer for
registration within four months after its arrival in India.

Where to register documents?

According to section 28 of this Act all the documents in relation to immovable

property must be presented for registration in Sub registrar’s Office within whose
sub-district the whole or part of the property is situated. The officer may on
special circumstances attend at the residence of any person who desires to
deposit a will or present a document for registration (s.31).

Who can apply for registration?

According to section 32 of this Act all documents to be registered under this Act
must be presented at the proper registration office by:

some person executing or claiming under the same or in case of a copy of a

decree or order, claiming under the decree or order;

representative of that person;

representative or assignee of such person who is authorized by power of attorney
executed and authenticated in manner hereinafter mentioned.

Every person presenting any document shall affix his passport size photograph
and fingerprints to the document provided that such document is in relation to
transfer of ownership of immovable property. Photographs and fingerprints of
both buyer and seller of the property must be mentioned in the document.

A will or authority presented by the testator or the donor for registration shall be
registered in the same manner as any other document provided that

1) the will was executed by the testator or donor,

2) The testator or donor is dead,

3) The person presenting the will or authority u/s 40 is permitted to present the
same.

Effects of non-registration of documents

Section 49 of this act states that:

No document required to be registered under section 17 of this Act shall be valid

for creation, operation, declaration, limitation and assignment of any right, title or
interest in any immovable property unless it’s registered within the specified time
period.

The document shall not confer any power to adopt.

The document cannot be received as evidence of any transaction affecting such

property or conferring such power.

Registration fees

The required amount of fees must be paid while presentation of documents.

(s.80)
Case laws

In the case of Narinder Singh Rao v. Avm Mahinder Singh Rao Narender’s

father had left behind a will stating that his wife could inherit the property. The will
that was signed by a single witness wasn’t registered and the widow bequeathed
the entire property to one of her nine children. The aggrieved children challenged
their mother’s action in the court stating that the will was invalid and that they too
had a right in their father’s property. The Supreme Court held that the children
had the right to inherit the property as the will was invalid because it was not
attested by two witnesses.

In Naginbhai P. Desai v. Taraben A Sheth AIR 2003, Bom, 192 it was held that
the agreement for sale cannot be considered as conveyance for the purpose of
Indian Registration Act, 1908.

There is no force in contention that agreement for sale was compulsorily registrab
le under Clause (b) to subsection (1) of Section 17 of the Registration Act.

The Supreme Court in the case of H.P. Puttaswamy v Thimmamma &

Ors CIVIL APPEAL NO. 3975 OF 2010 observed whether the presence of
purchaser of an immovable property is required before the concerned authority
under the Act when registration of a deed is carried out in conveyance in
accordance with the Act.

The dispute in this case was in relation to a property measuring 4,500 square
feet in the village of Hittanahalli Koppalu in Malavallu Taluk in the State of
Karnataka (“Suit Property“).

It was found out that two sale deeds were executed with regard to this property.
The appellant instituted a suit on March 31, 1989 to be regarded as lawful owner
of the suit property. The appellant had come in possession of this suit initially as a
tenant and later as a purchaser pursuant to the plaintiff’s deed.

The Supreme Court invoked section 32 of the act and stated that apart from the
exceptions proposed under Section 31,88 and 89 of the Act if the document is
being registered notwithstanding the fact whether the registration of such a
document is compulsory or optional would require either:

(i) some person executing the document or claiming rights under the document,
or

(ii) by the representative or assign of such a person, or

(iii) by the agent of such a person, representative who has a duly authorized
power of attorney to be present before the concerned authority under the Act.
From a bare reading of Section 32 it can be understood that both the parties to a
sale deed need not be be present before the concerned authority under the Act.

And since the conveyance deed did not fall under the exceptions mentioned
under the section 32, the Supreme Court disposed the case without intervening
with the High Court’s Judgement and clarified that Section 32 does not require
the presence of both the parties to a sale deed when the same is given for
registration to the concerned authority under the Act.