K.R.

MANGALAM UNIVERSITY

THE REGISTRATION ACT, 1908, THE SC

RULES, 1966 & THE DELHI HC RULES, 1967
TOPIC – EFFECTS OF REGISTRATION AND NON-
REGISTRATION OF DOCUMENTS

Submitted by: -
NAME – RASHI GUPTA
ROLL NO.- 1905140022
COURSE- BBA LLB (X SEM)

Submitted to: -
MS. SADHANA NIRBAN

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 S. NO. PARTICULARS PAGE NO.

INTRODUCTION 1
1.
WHY REGISTRATION OF 1
2. DOCUMENTS IS IMPORTANT?

MANDATORY REGISTRATION 1-2

3.
OPTIONAL REGISTRATION 2
4.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF 2-3
REGISTRATION OF
5.
DOCUMENTS?

EFFECTS OF REGISTRATION 3
6.

EFFECTS OF NON- 3-4

7. REGISTRATION

RELEVANT CASE LAWS 4-5

8.

CONCLUSION 5
9.

INTRODUCTION
The Registration Act, 1908 was set up with the purpose of ensuring registration of documents
and that all the important information related to deal regarding land or other immovable
property. Having a document registered can add more authenticity to that of the document.

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.

The Registration Act 1908 lays out the rules and regulations regarding the registration of
documents. The Registration Act 1908 has specific provisions regarding the establishment
that is allowed to register documents, namely the Registrar and Sub-Registrars, the deeds that
must be registered, such as sales deeds, when they are to be registered, where they are to be
registered, and many other intricacies.

While the Registration Act 1908 lays out very specific provisions regarding many aspects of
registration, the fees that are required to be paid for the registration of documents differ from
State to State. The registration fees for each document for each State are available on the
respective State’s website.

WHY REGISTRATION OF DOCUMENTS IS IMPORTANT?

1. The Registration Act, 1908 was implemented to provide discipline and public notice
concerning transactions in relation to immovable property.

2. The Act provides for mandatory registration of certain documents to protect them
from any type of fraud.

3. It acts as a valid proof and aids a person in taking a legal action during any dispute.

4. It ensures transparency in deals.

5. It’s easier to find out if there’s any impediment or ongoing litigation with regard to a
property if the document is registered.

MANDATORY REGISTRATION

Indian Registration Act, 1908, section 17 provides for compulsory registration of such
documents. Failure to do so would result in invalid transfers.

Those are the following:-

1. Deed of gift relating to immovable property;
2. Instruments not testamentary:
a. Subject to the establishment, transfer, declaration and extinguishment of any
interest in immovable property valued at Rs.100 and above.
 b.
Which acknowledge receipt or payment of any creation, assignment,
declaration or restriction in respect of any right, title or interest.
3. Lease of immovable property for any period of more than one year or annual rent
reservation.

4. Contracts for the transfer of immovable property for the purposes of Section 53A of
the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 shall be performed on or after the coming into
force of the Registration and Other Relevant Laws (Amendment ) Act, 2001.

OPTIONAL REGISTRATION

Section 18 provides for the optional registration of certain documents, such as:-
 Adoption Deed
 Instrument relating to joint-stock business shares
 Debentures provided by the joint venture
 Will
 Rental of immovable property not greater than 1 year
 Past transaction document
 Power of Counsel in relation to movable properties
 Decree or court order containing an immovable property valued under Rs. 100
 Sale certificate issued
 Mortgage Agreement
 Promissory note
 Revenue Officer partitioning instrument
 State award of immovable real estate

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF REGISTRATION OF DOCUMENTS?

 A paper registration makes for a more open contract. Even if a registered document is
lost or damaged, the document’s authenticity is proved in the registration records.

 A record indicating that a Power of Attorney has been revoked should also be
registered so that after revocation there is no misuse.

 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 any existing liability before anybody
decides to buy it.

 Registration also prohibits forgeries or fraud in particular transactions, tax, stamp duty
etc.

Although certain documents are automatically registered, it is still best to register them as this
will prove the validity of the document and set aside any questions that might arise as a result
of it.
EFFECTS OF REGISTRATION

Registration gives very valuable rights. On the contrary, if document is not registered, it
value becomes almost nil.

A document takes effect from its date of execution and not from date of registration.
However, if the document states that it will be effective from a particular date, it will be
effective from that date – Section 47.

Registration of a document gives following rights :

 A document in respect of immovable property is registered; all persons dealing with

that property are deemed to have notice o the registered deed.
 Any non-testamentary document registered under the Act takes effect against any oral
agreement relating to the property. The only exceptions are : -

a. If possession of property (movable or immovable) is delivered on basis of such

oral agreement and such delivery of possession is valid transfer under any law.
b. Mortgage by deposit of title deeds takes effect against any mortgage deed
subsequently executed and registered which relates to same property. – Section
48.

 A document relating to immovable property which is required to be registered and

accordingly registered takes effect against any un-registered document in relation to
same property. This is so whether the un-registered document is executed before or
after the document, which has been registered. The only exception is lease of
immovable property for less than one year, which is not required to be registered
under the Act. – Section 50.

If two documents in respect of same property are registered, the document executed first
has priority, even if it is registered

EFFECTS OF NON-REGISTRATION

The Registration Act provided for the definitions of mandatory and voluntary record
registration. The reality is that it is document registration which makes documents authentic
in law. This means that document registration has certain effects and value. Likewise, there
are also other consequences and effects of unregistered documents.

Section 49 of Registration Act 1908 deals with effects of the non-registration of the
documents.

Effects of non-registration of a compulsorily registrable instruction may be discussed in

the following heads
1. Inoperativeness of a document
 That no document is necessary to be registered under this Act or under any earlier law
providing for or relating to the registration of documents shall be used to establish, grant,
allocate, restrict or extinguish any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent, in
or in respect of the immovable property.

2. No Conferment of power to Adopt

Under the section, an adoption deed not duly registered, as required by section 17 of the
Registration Act, shall not grant any power of adoption.

3. Inadmissibility as evidence

A document required to be registered and which is not registered can not be taken as
evidence of the creation of any right, title or interest in or on certain immovable property.
Consequently, non-registration destroys the evidential value of an instrument, but it can
be used as evidence of certain collateral transactions.

4. Admissibility for collateral Transactions

Where a document required by law to be registered is not registered then it cannot affect
any immovable property contained therein nor can it be received as evidence of any
transaction affecting such property pursuant to section 49 of the Registration Act.
However, such a document may be admitted to prove a party’s admission in respect of the
property ‘s character, i.e. whether it is joint or otherwise.

RELEVANT CASE LAWS

 Suraj Lamps & Industries Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Haryana1,

In this case, the court held that an immovable property can be legally transferred only by
a registered deed of conveyance and transactions which are in the form of General Power
of Attorney Sales or Sale by agreement to sell or Transfer by will do not confer title and
does not amount to transfer of immovable property. Transactions of such a nature cannot
be recognized as deeds conferring title except to the limited extent of Section 53 A of The
Transfer of Property Act, 1882.

 Hansia v. Bakhtawarmal2,
In this case, the issue that arose in this case was how far a non-registered document that
needed mandatory registration under Section 17 of this act can be used in the proceeding.
The document in question was a mortgage deed that was not registered.

1
AIR 2012 SC 206
2
AIR 1958 Raj 102
 It was observed that a suit for recovery based on an unregistered mortgage deed is bound
to fall because the purpose of the mortgage deed is to prove the mortgage. The
unregistered mortgage deed can only be used for collateral purposes as per Section 49 of
the Registration Act. The unregistered deed can only be used by the plaintiff in a suit for
possession and not in a suit for redemption to prove the nature of possession.

Thus, Section 49 of the Act cannot be used for availing any benefit in a suit for
redemption. Collateral purpose connotes a purpose other than that for creating, assigning,
declaring, extinguishing or limiting a right to an immovable property; documents
requiring compulsory registration under the Registration Act, 1908, can be used for
collateral purpose.

 Tek Bahadur Bhujil v. Debi Singh Bhujil3

The court held that where a document regarding family arrangement is made in writing
with the purpose of using it as a proof then such a document would require mandatory
registration as the document would amount to document of title declaring for future the
various rights or claims or properties each member of the family would acquire and
enjoy.

CONCLUSION

The purpose of registering a document is to notify the world that such a document has been
executed, to prevent fraud and forgery and to secure a reliable and complete account of all
transactions affecting the property’s title. Consequently, it can be seen that registration of a
document is of utmost importance and should be done as soon as possible otherwise it would
lead to long years of a legal battle.

3
AIR 1966 SC 292