- mind Sections 34 and 35 of the Act 1908, whereby it is held that registering officer can only see whether document is duly stamped to valuation given and that he has no jurisdiction to withhold or refuse registration of sale deed on the ground that vendor has no title.
No provision empowers Sub Registrar to satisfy himself as to the title
In Eshaque v. Sub Registrar, 2002 (1) KLT 330, it is held that there is no provision which empowers the Sub Registrar to satisfy himself as to the title; and that the Sub Registrar is not justified in requiring the executant of the deed to produce possession certificate from the competent authority to establish possession of property. It is followed in the following decisions:
- Sumathi v. State of Kerala, ILR 2018-4 Ker 956; 2018-5 KHC 586; 2018-4 KLT 959
- Nilambur Rubber Company Ltd. v. State of Kerala, 2024-4 KLT 642 (Held- registration of a sale deed cannot be refused, on the premise that the executant has no ownership, but only possession over the property conveyed.)
- Pankaj Kumar Harlalka v. State of Jharkhand, 2002-3 JCR 152; 2005-2 JLJR 118.
High Courts were unanimous on this issue
In Makhanbala Chakraborty v. Pranab Kanti Basu, 26 Sep 2014, the Tripura High Court observed that the High Courts seem to be unanimous on this issue that the Registrar/Sub-Registrar cannot refuse to register a conveyance entered into by a squatter, since the Registrar does not have the authority to question the title of the transferor. Following decisions were referred to:
- Bihar Deed Writers Association v. State of Bihar: AIR 1989 Pat 144(DB) (para 3);
- Hari Singh v. Sub-Registrar, : (1998) 120 PLR 787 (DB) (paras 8 to 11),
- K. Eshaque v. Sub-Registrar, : AIR 2002 Ker 128 (paras 7 to 9);
- Gopal v. District Collector, Bhandara, (2003) 3 Mah LJ 883 (para 11);
- Yadla Ramesh Naidu v. Sub-Registrar, : (2009) 1 ALD 337 (paras 22 to 25);
- Ashwini Ashok Khirsagar vs. State of Maharashtra, (2010) 3 AIR Bom R (NOC 318) 90 (paras 4 to 8);
- Deep Apartment v. State of Maharashtra, : (2012) 6 Bom LR 3782; (paras 6 to 9);
- Gurjeet Singh Madaan v. Sub-Registrar, CS (OS) 340/2013, decided on 26-09-2013 (Delhi High Court, paras 23 to 25).
