LAW OF REGISTRATION, SPECIFIC RELIEF & COURT FEE: PROJECT

REPORT

ARMY INSTITUE OF LAW

REGISTRATION OF DOCUMENTS UNDER THE REGISTRATION ACT, 1908: A

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Submitted in partial fulfilment of requirements for BA. LLB degree

Submitted to: Submitted By:

Mr. Pradeep Kumar Gaurav Hooda
Astt. Prof. of Law Section-A
Army Institute of Law 1433

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my Law of Registration Professor,

Mr. Pradeep Kumar, for allotting me this topic and guiding me through it. Your wisdom and
knowledge helped me immensely in the compilation of my project.

I would also like to thank my fellow batch mates and friends. If it hadn’t been for their criticism,
I would not have been able to improve the various flaws in my project.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S. No Title Page No.

1. Introduction 4

2. Types of Registration 5

3. When To Register Documents 8

4. Where To Register 9

5. Who can Apply for Registration 9

6. Fees 10

7. What Are The Benefits Of Registering Documents 10

8. Some Important Case Laws 11

9. Bibliography 12

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 REGISTRATION OF DOCUMENTS UNDER THE REGISTRATION ACT, 1908: A
CRITICAL ANALYSIS

“Nobody has a more sacred obligation to obey the law than those who make the law.”
- Sophocles

INTRODUCTION

Registration is deemed to prevent fraud. The object of registering a document is to give notice
to the world that such a document has been executed. Registration of a document does not
confer the title over the property as mentioned in the document registered, but provides an
evidence of such transactions being registered, based on which title over the property could be
established.

Any document whether binding or non-binding shall be registered in a required manner.

Registration of every document is not necessary but doing so affirms the authenticity and helps
in avoiding legal process. Many people are not familiar with the concept of registration and
hence, do not understand its importance in the eyes of law. It is crucial to be familiarized with
registration and what it includes to avoid disputes.1

Importance of Registration of Documents

Registration is recording the matters of a document with an authorized or recognized officer

(Registering officer) and preserving the copies of the original document.

One needs to register the legal documents so as to prevent any property dispute, fraud, conserve
the evidence, be assured of the title and publicizing the information.2

Language of Legal Document to be Registered

One has to make sure that the document is in an understandable language and in a language
that is used in the district.

As per Registration Act, 1908, the authorized officer is allowed to refuse to register the
document if it is in a language that the officer doesn’t understand and is not used in the district.

1
https://blog.ipleaders.in/registration-of-documents/ accessed on 16th Jan 2019.
2
https://www.nrilegalservices.com/registration-of-legal-documents/ accessed on 16th Jan 2019.

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If one is not able to understand the language of the document one can easily miss important
point causing Property Disputes later on.

For an officer to accept the document which is not in the understandable language, it should be
accompanied by a correct translation employed in the region and the original document.

Period Prescribed for Registration of a Document

As per the Section 23 of the Registration Act, 1908 any legal document related to property has
to be presented for registration to the proper officer within four months from the date of the
execution of the instrument to prevent Property Disputes in future.

Procedure in case of Default

The following procedure is to be adopted in case of default in time prescribed for Registration
of Documents:

 If a document is not presented for registration within the said period of four months and
if the delay in doing so is not that much, then an application can be written to the
Registrar.

 He on payment of a fine not exceeding ten times the amount of the registration fee may
accept the document for registration.

TYPES OF REGISTRATION

There are two kinds of Registration according to the Registration Act, 1908:

A. Mandatory Registration

Section 17 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908 provides for mandatory registration of certain
documents. Those are as follows:

 Gift deed related to an immovable property;

 Non-testamentary instruments:
a. purporting to creation, assignment, declaration, extinguishing of any interest in any
immovable property worth Rs. 100 and above;
b. which acknowledge receipt or payment of any consideration for creation,
assignment, declaration or limitation of any right, title or interest;
 Lease of immovable property for any term exceeding one year or reservation of yearly
rent;

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  Contracts for transfer of immovable property for a consideration for purpose of Section
53A of Transfer of Property Act, 1882 is executed on or after the inception of
Registration and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2001.

Failing to do so will result in transfer being invalid.

B. Optional Registration

All sorts of documents are not compulsorily registrable under the Registration Act there are
documents on which registration is at the option of the party. The non-registration of such
documents does not affect the validity or admissibility in the evidence.

In other words, Registration Act has provided concepts of compulsory registration and optional
registration of documents. In this Act, different documents have been mentioned; some of them
are those documents of which registration is compulsory, and some documents are those
documents of which registration is not compulsory.

Section 18 the Registration Act 1908 deals with the optional registerable documents. Following
are those documents of which registration is not compulsory;3

(i) Deed of Adoption

A deed of adoption does not require registration. This is because it is not deed, but the adoption
itself, that created the status of adopted son and confers an interest in property.

(ii) Instruments, which relate to share in Joint Stock Company

Those instruments do not require compulsory registration when such instruments relate to
shares in Joint Stock Company.

(iii) Debenture, which is issued by Joint Stock Company

Debenture does not require compulsory registration when Joint stock C9ompany issues such
debenture.

3
https://thelawstudy.blogspot.com/2015/04/documents-of-which-registration-is-not.html accessed on 16th
January 2018.

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(iv) Endorsement upon or Transfer of Debenture, which is issued by Joint Stock
Company
Any endorsement upon or transfer of any debenture does not require compulsory registration,
when Joint Stock Company issues such debenture.

(v) Document value of Hundred Rupees

Any document does not require compulsory registration when such document does not create,
declare, assign, limit or extinguish any right, title or interest of value of one hundred rupees
and upwards to or in immoveable property, but merely creates a right to obtain another
document which creates, declares, assigns, limits or extinguishes any such right, title or interest
thought its execution.

(vi) Document of past transaction

Document evidencing merely a record of past transaction and not containing terms of contract
or bargain operating in praesenti would qualify as a mere memorandum and does not require
registration.

(vii) Decree or order of Court

Any decree or order of court does not require compulsory registration when such decree or
order is not made on compromise and does not comprise immoveable property, which is other
than that property, which is subject-matter of suit or proceeding.

(viii) Instrument of Collateral Security

Instrument of collateral security does not require compulsory registration when such instrument
is granted under Land Improvement Loans Act.

(ix) Power of Attorney

A power of attorney is not one of those documents enumerated by section 17 of the Act which
are compulsorily register able. However it can be registered under section 18 of the Act.

(x) Agreement to Sell

A mere agreement to sell does not require registration by reason only of the fact that such
document contains a recital of the payment of an earnest money or of the whole or any part of
the purchase money.

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(xi) Agreement of Mortgage

An agreement by a debtor to execute a mortgage of his immovable property to his creditor does
not by itself create an interest in the immovable property but merely creates a right to obtain a
deed of mortgage from the debtor. Hence does not require registration, but it may be registered
at the option of one party.

(xii) Instrument of Partition

Any instrument of partition does not require compulsory registration when such instrument is
made by a revenue-officer.

(xiii) Certificate of Sale

Any certificate of sale does not require compulsory registration when such certificate is granted
to purchaser of any property, which is sold by public auction by civil or revenue officer.

(xiv) Counterpart of Lease

Any counterpart of lease does not require compulsory registration, when lease, which
corresponds to such counterpart, has itself been registered.

(xv) Promissory Note

A promissory note is not required to be compulsorily registered. However, it can be registered

under this section.

Therefore, it can be stated that registration Act has provided provisions for registration of some
documents. It is not only through such provisions, but it is also through precedents that it is
decided whether a document is register able of not. The reason is that provisions of Registration
act about registration of documents are not exhaustive ones. Therefore, guidance is sometimes,
taken from precedents as far as registration of documents is concerned.

WHEN TO REGISTER DOCUMENTS

According to Section 23 of The Registration Act, 1908, all documents except a will have to be
presented for registration within 4 months from the date of execution. If a document is executed
by several persons at different times then that document has to be presented for registration and
re-registration within 4 months from the date of each execution.4 If due to any urgency or

4
Section 24 of The Registration Act, 1908.

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unavoidable accident, any executed document or a copy of decree or order is not presented
within 4 months but it is presented after its expiry will be accepted for registration provided
that 10 times the amount of registration fees is paid and delay in presentation does not exceed
4 months.

Application for such a step has to be made to Sub-Registrar who will forward such application
to the Registrar to whom he is a subordinate.5 If a document is executed outside India by any
or all of the parties and is presented after expiry 4 months then it will be accepted for
registration provided that it was executed and presented for registration within 4 months after
its arrival to India.6

WHERE TO REGISTER DOCUMENTS

In case of documents regarding immovable property, it shall be presented for registration in

the office of Sub-Registrar within whose district the property or part of it is located. 7 In case
of all other documents, they shall be presented:-

1. In the office of Sub-Registrar in whose sub-district the document was executed; or

2. In the office of any other Sub-Registrar under State Government where all individuals
desire the document to be registered.

The Officer authorized to register a document may on a special cause being shown also go to
the individual’s private residence who desires to present a document for registration or deposit
a will.8

WHO CAN APPLY FOR REGISTRATION?

According to Section 32 of The Registration Act, 1908, every document (except in cases of
Sections 31, 88 and 89 of The Registration Act, 1908) shall be presented for registration or
deposited in a proper registration office by:-

1. some person executing or claiming under the same, or, in the case of a copy of a decree
or order, claiming under the decree or order, or

2. the representative or assignee of such a person, or

5
Section 25 of The Registration Act, 1908.
6
Section 26 of The Registration Act, 1908.
7
Section 28 of The Registration Act, 1908.
8
Section 31 of The Registration Act, 1908.

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 3. the agent of such a person, representative or assign, duly authorized by power-of-
attorney executed and authenticated in the manner hereinafter mentioned.

Every person presenting a document for registration shall affix his passport size photograph
along with fingerprints to the document. In a case where a document is related to transfer of
ownership of immovable property, passport size photographs and fingerprints of all the buyers
and sellers mentioned in the document shall be affixed.9

In case of a will or authority to adopt, the testator or after his death any executor may or a donor
or after his death the donee or adoptive son may present it to the Registrar or Sub-Registrar for
registration respectively.10 It shall be registered if it is satisfied that:-

1. The will or authority to adopt was executed by the executor or donor;

2. The testator or donor is dead;

3. The person presenting the will or authority to adopt is entitled to present the same.

FEES

The prescribed fees for registration of documents shall be paid on presentation of documents.11

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF REGISTERING DOCUMENTS

Registration of a document gives a more transparent deal. Even if a registered document is lost
or damaged, the registration records prove the authenticity of the document. A document
stating that a Power of Attorney has been revoked should also be registered so that there is no
misuse after revocation.

Easy access also helps in finding the owner who has the title and right to the property and
whether there is any case against him or an existing liability before someone decides to buy it.
Registration also prevents forgeries or fraud in transactions specifically in tax, stamp duty etc.12

Even though some documents are registered on an optional basis, it is still advised to register
them as this will prove the authenticity of the document and set aside any doubts arising
because of it.

9
Section 32A of The Registration Act, 1908.
10
Section 40 and Section 41 of The Registration Act, 1908.
11
Section 80 of The Registration Act, 1908.
12
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/analysis/advantages-of-registering-
documents/articleshow/19879392.cms accessed on 16th Jan. 2019.

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 SOME IMPORTANT CASE LAWS

1. Suraj Lamps & Industries Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Haryana13

It was held as follows:

 That an immovable property can be legally and lawfully transferred/ conveyed only by
a registered deed of conveyance.
 Transactions in the nature of ‘General Power of Attorney Sales’ or ‘Sale by Agreement
to Sell’ or ‘Transfer by Will’ are incapable of conveying title and do not amount to
transfer, nor can they be recognised as valid mode of transfer of immovable property.
 The Courts are not to treat such transactions as completed or concluded transfers or
conveyances as they neither convey title nor create any interest in an immovable
property. They cannot be recognised as deeds conferring title except to the limited
extent of Section 53-A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. Such transactions cannot
be relied upon or made the basis for mutations in Municipal or Revenue Records.
 This rule applies not only to the deeds of conveyance in regards to freehold property
but also to transfer of leasehold property. A lease can be validly transferred only vide a
registered “Assignment of Lease”.
 An ‘Agreement to Sell/General Power of Attorney/ Will’ transaction neither conveys
any title nor creates any interest in an immovable property.
 Court Held: Observations made by the High Court of Delhi in the case of, Asha M.
Jain v. Canara Bank14, that the concept of ‘Power of Attorney Sales’ has become, over
a period of time, a recognised mode of transfer apropos transactions concluded by way
of Agreement to Sell or General Power of Attorney or Will, are unwarranted, unjustified
and misleading.

2. Tek Bahadur Bhujil v. Debi Singh Bhujil,15

In this case, it was held that, where a family arrangement was brought about by a document in
writing with the purpose of using that writing as a proof of what the family had arranged for,

13
AIR 2012 SC 206.
14
94 (2001) DLT 841.
15
AIR 1966 SC 292.

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then such a document would require compulsory registration because it is then that such a
document would amount to a document of title declaring for future, what rights/claims and
what properties the parties i.e. each member of the family would possess or enjoy.

3. State of Rajasthan v. Basant Nahata16

In this case it was held as follows:

 A grant of power of attorney is essentially governed by Chapter X of the Contract Act,

1872;
 A power of attorney is not an instrument of transfer in regard to any right, title or interest
in an immovable property;
 A power of attorney is creation of an agency where by the grantor authorises the grantee
to do the acts specified therein, on behalf of grantor, which when executed will be
binding on the grantor as if done by him (See: Section 1-A and Section 2 of the Powers
of Attorney Act, 1882);
 A power of attorney is revocable or terminable at anytime unless it is made irrevocable
in a manner known to law;
 Even an irrevocable power of attorney does not have the effect of transferring title to
the grantee;
 A power of attorney is nothing but a document of convenience;
 An attorney-holder may execute a deed of conveyance in exercise of the power granted
under the power of attorney and thereby convey title on behalf of the grantor.

4. Bhoop Singh v. Ram Singh Major17

It was held that, if a decree is passed regarding some immovable property which is not the
subject matter of the suit, then, it (that is, the decree) will require compulsory registration. That
is, if a suit is filed in respect of property ‘A’, but, the decree is in respect of immovable property
‘B’, then the decree so far as it relates to immovable property ‘B’, will require compulsory
registration; this is the plain meaning of Section 17(2) (vi) of the Registration Act, 1908.

16
2005 12 SCC 77.
17
AIR 1996 SC 196.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books Referred:

1. R.K Bangia: Law of Registration

2. J.P Sirohi: The Indian Registration Act
3. The Indian Registration Act, 1908 (Bare Act)

Websites Referred:

1. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/analysis/advantages-of-registering-
documents/articleshow/19879392.cms
2. https://thelawstudy.blogspot.com/2015/04/documents-of-which-registration-is-
not.html
3. https://blog.ipleaders.in/registration-of-documents/
4. https://www.nrilegalservices.com/registration-of-legal-documents/

Case Laws Cited:

1. Suraj Lamps & Industries Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Haryana

2. Tek Bahadur Bhujil v. Debi Singh Bhujil
3. State of Rajasthan v. Basant Nahata
4. Bhoop Singh v. Ram Singh Major

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