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Introduction
The Registration Act, 1908 serves the purpose of proper recording and registration of documents/instruments, which give them more authenticity. Registration means recording of the contents of a document with a Registering Officer and preservation of copies of original document. Documents are registered for the purpose of conservation of evidence, assurance of title, publicity of documents and prevention of fraud.A registered document therefore, is a proof that the document in question was executed.
Object of Registration Act:
The object of Registration and inter-alia Registration Act is elaborately discussed by Hon’ble Supreme Court in case of Suraj Lamp and Industries Pvt. Ltd. versus State of Haryana and Another AIR 2012 SC 206, as under:
“The Registration Act, 1908, was enacted with the intention of providing orderliness, discipline and public notice in regard to transactions relating to immovable property and protection from fraud and forgery of documents of transfer.”
Registration of Document
The documents registrable under the Act fall under three categories. In the first category, documents relating to transactions which according to the substantive law, can be affected only by registered documents. In order for a transaction to be valid must be effected by a registered instrument only. What it provides is that when there is a written instrument evidencing a transaction, it must, in certain cases, be registered. Under section 17 of the Registration Act, the compulsorily registrable documents are given below:
(1) The following documents shall be registered, if the properties to which they relate is situate in a district in which, and if they have been executed on or after the date on which, Act No. XVI of 1864, of the Indian Registration Act 1866, or the Indian Registration Act 1871, or the Indian Registration Act 1877, or the this Act came or comes into force, namely:-
(a) instruments of gift of immoveable property;
(b) other non-testamentary instruments which purport or operate to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent, of the value of one hundred rupees, and upwards, to or in immoveable property;
(c) non-testamentary instruments which acknowledge the receipt or payment of any consideration on account of the creation, declaration, assignment, limitation or extinction of any such right, title or interest; and
(d) leases of immoveable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent;
(e) non-testamentary instruments transferring or assigning any decree or order of a court or any award when such decree or order or award purports or operates to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent, of the value of one hundred rupees and upwards, to or in immoveable property (Added by Act No. 21 of 1929);
PROVIDED that the State Government may, by order published in Official Gazette, exempt from the operation of this sub-section any leases executed in any district, or part of a district, the terms granted by which do not exceed five years and the annual rent reserved by which do not exceed fifty rupees.
(2) Nothing in clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) applies to -
(i) any composition-deed; or
(ii) any instrument relating to shares in a joint stock company, notwithstanding that the assets of such company consists in whole or in part of immoveable property; or
(iii) any debenture issued by any such company and not creating, declaring, assigning, limiting or extinguishing any right, title or interest, to or in immoveable property except insofar as it entitles the holder to the security afforded by a registered instrument whereby the company has mortgaged, conveyed or otherwise transferred the whole or part of its immoveable property or any interest therein to trustees upon trust for the benefit of the holders of such debentures; or
(iv) any endorsement upon or transfer of any debenture issued by any such company; or
(v) any document not itself creating, declaring, assigning, limiting or extinguishing any right or title or interest of the value of one hundred rupees and upwards to or in immoveable property, but merely creating a right to obtain another document which will, when executed, create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish any such right, title or interest; or
(vi) any decree or order of a court [except a decree or order expressed to be made on a compromise and comprising immoveable property other than that which is the subject-matter of the suit or proceedings] (Substituted by Act No. 21 of 1929 for the words 'and any award');
(vii) any grant of immoveable property by government; or
(viii) any instrument of partition made by a revenue officer; or
(ix) any order granting a loan or instrument of collateral security granted under the Land Improvement Act 1871, or the Land Improvement Loans Act 1883; or
(x) any order granting a loan under the Agriculturists Loans Act 1884, or instrument for securing the repayment of a loan made under that Act; or
[(x-a) any order made under the Charitable Endowments Act 1890 (6 of 1890) vesting any property in a treasurer of Charitable Endowments or divesting any such treasurer of any property; or] (Inserted by Act No. 39 of 1948)
(xi) any endorsement on a mortgage-deed acknowledging the payment of the whole or any part of the mortgage-money, and any other receipt for payment of money due under a mortgage when the receipt does not purport to extinguish the mortgage; or
(xii) any certificate of sale granted to the purchaser of any property sold by public auction by a civil or revenue officer.
Explanation: A document purporting or operating to effect a contract for the sale of immoveable property shall not be deemed to require or ever to have required registration by reason only of the fact that such document contains a recital of the payment of any earnest money or of the whole or any part of the purchase money. (Inserted by Act No. 2 of 1927)
(3) Authorities to adopt a son, executed after the 1st day of January 1872, and not conferred by a will, shall also be registered.
. In the second category, certain transactions can be effected without writing, i.e. partitions, releases, settlements etc. But, if the transaction is evidenced by a writing and relates to immovable property, the Registration Act steps in and clauses (b) and (c) of Section 17(1) of said Act require registration of such documents, subject to the exception specified in sub-section 2 of that section. If an authority to adopt is conferred in writing, other than a Will, it is also required to be registered vide section 17(3).
In the third category, it is open to the parties, if they so choose, to get certain documents registered at their option and this is permitted by section 18. ‘Will’ need not be registered but it is open to the parties to get it registered under the third category.
Section 17 deals with documents of which registration is compulsory.Whereas, sub-Section (2) of section 17 provides a dozen of exceptions to clause (b) and (c) of section 17(1).
Section 18 of Registration Act pertains to documents of which registration is optional. Word ‘may’ is used in textual of section 18. Limitation for registration of a document
Limitation for registration of a document under Section 23 of the Act, subject to certain exceptions, any document other than a Will has to be presented for registration within four months from the date of its execution. The term ‘execution’ means signing of the agreement.
The Registration Act strikes only at documents, and not at transactions. All that it enacts is that when a document is employed to effectuate any of the transaction specified in s.17 of the Registration Act, such document must be registered.
Registration of documents under the Registration Act have certain definite advantages which ae given below: a. Registration of a document gives a more transparent deal. It adds authenticity to the document.
b. Even if a registered document is lost or damaged, the registration records prove that the document was executed and its copy certified as true can always be obtained from the office of the Registrar.
c. A document stating that a Power of Attorney has been revoked should invariably be registered so that there is no misuse after revocation. In the case of Wills it often seen that, its Executants ( testators ) often change / modify their earlier Will just before passing away. It is again a fact that, in a large number of such cases the change / modification is done under pressure from the beneficiaries in whose care the old / infirm person is , in the evening of his life. In case the earlier Will was registered any change / modification thereof will also be required to be registered. The difficulty in changing / modifying a registered Will will ensure that, only genuine cases get amended / changed. Registration of Will also reduce the chances of any fraud taking place with the Executants once they become infirm. Inder Kumar The author is a founder Partner of Legal Lane and the views expressed are of his own. The Author can be reached on : +91-9999842777(M), arora.inder31@gmail.com, www.legallane.in