How the documents can be registered?

For the authentication and validity of a document it needs to be registered. The registration of document comes under the Registration Act, 1908 in India. Some of the types of document are compulsorily required to be register and registration of some of the documents is optional under this Act.

In this article we will learn how to register a document in India. We will look into various requirements related to registration of documents. We will mainly focus on the registration of document under the Registration Act, 1908.

Need of document registration

The main aim of document registration is to give validity and authenticity to a document. According to The Registration Act, 1908 some types of documents are mandatory to be registered and some of the documents are optional. Section 17 of this Act talks about compulsory registration of documents and Section 18 talks about the optional registration. Document must be registered to safeguard from frauds, legal hurdles, and it can be used as valid evidence in court if it is required.

Document which you can register under The Registration Act, 1908

As we have discussed earlier in this Act registration of documents is divided into two categories one is compulsory registration and second is optional registration. Here the list of documents which you can register under this Act.

Under Section 17:

1. Document of gift deed of immovable property.
2. Documents related to creating some kind of interest in the immovable property having value above one hundred rupees.
3. Document of lease of immovable property on yearly basis.
4. Documents related to contracts of transfer of immovable property.
5. Documents related to shares in the joint stock company.
6. Any decree or order of court.
7. Documents related to grant of immovable property by government.
8. Documents related to grant of loan.
9. Documents of mortgage deed for loan in part or whole.
10. Documents related to adoption.

Under Section 18

1. Documents creating some kind of interest in the immovable property having value below one hundred rupees.
2. Receipts or documents related to payment of the consideration for creating interest in such property.
3. Documents of lease agreement less than one year and which do not comes under section 17.
4. Will and also different documents which are not mentioned in section 17 of Act.

Place for registration of document

Section 28 and 29 of the Registration Act, 1908 talks about the place for the registration of document under this Act.

Documents related to land:

According to section 28 of this Act, following documents can be registered in the office of sub – registrar of that district or sub – district in which some or whole part of land locates.

1. Documents mentioned in Section 17 sub section (1) clauses (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) and Section 17 subsection (2) if document is related to the immovable property. All these are documents related to immovable property. Check the list given above.
2. Documents mentioned in Section 18 clauses (a), (b), (c), and (cc) of this Act, which are also related to the immovable property.

For registration of other documents:

Section 29 of this Act talks about the registration of other documents which are not included in the section 28. According to section 29 (1), any document apart from documents mentioned in section 28 or copy of a decree or order may be registered in the office of the sub – registrar of the sub – district where document was executed or where all parties desire and claims to register. For the registration of the copy of decree or order, according to section 29 (2), it need be presented in the office of sub – registrar of the sub – district where decree or order was made.

According to section 31 of this Act, officer can visit for the registration or to accept deposit to the residence of the person in special situations.

Time period for document registration

As per section 23 of this Act, apart from document of will other documents need to be registered within the 4 months of the execution at the office of the proper officer. If a document is executed by several persons at different times, such document according section 24 can be registered within time period of four months from the execution date of each. It may be presented at any time as per section 27 of this Act.

If due to some reason which is unavoidable or due to some urgent necessity someone is not able to register the document, such document may be registered under section 25 if the delay does not exceed limit of four months. In this situation officer may allow registration by charging fine not exceeding ten times of fees. For this you have to give a application to sub – register and he will forward this application to the registrar.

If a document is executed outside India and not registered within time limit, such document can be register if officer allow on the basis that the document has been executed outside India and it has been presented for registration within four months after coming to India. Such documents you can register according to section 26 of this Act.

Who can register documents?

According to section 32 of this Act, apart from cases mentioned in section 31, 88, and 89 , document for registration may be presented by:

1. By person who has executed the document. Also in case of copy of decree or order, person should present documents for registration.
2. By assigned person or representative of such person.
3. By authorized power of attorney of such person.

While presenting the documents for registration a person under section 32 shall affix a passport size photograph and fingerprints on the document according to section 32A. In case of transfer of ownership of immovable property, photograph and fingerprints of both the parties, seller as well as buyer shall be affixed on the document.

Fees of registration

According to section 80 of this Act, fees for the registration of document under this Act is payable at the time of presentation.

Case laws

1. Satya Pal Anand v. State of M.P. & Ors^[i]

In this case Supreme Court held that when document is registered authorities cannot revoke the registration.

• Suraj Lamp and Industries Pvt. Ltd. versus State of Haryana and anr.^[ii].

In this case court held that, a general power of attorney cannot be used to transfer of property. Also court stated that, 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.

Conclusion

In this article we discussed how to register a document under the Registration Act, 1908. There are two types of registration mentioned in this Act one is compulsory and another is optional registration. We have discussed both the types of registration in this article. The office of sub registrar is the place where you can present the documents for registration. In some special situations documents can be registered at the residence of the person who wants to register the documents.

“The views of the authors are personal“

Reference

[i]https://indiankanoon.org/doc/84105948/. (last visited 03 November 2019)

[ii] AIR 2012 SC 206.