The recent High Court pronouncements on the registration of Revenue Sites has not validated nor declared that the revenue sites are LEGAL.

It is said that the Sub-Registrars cannot assume the power of a judge or a court and dictate terms for the registration.

The Sub-Registrars cannot refuse the registration on the grounds that there is violation certain other local statutes or laws.

In the event of any such violations, there will be a penal clause and if by transfer of land , there is an infraction of any of the local laws, then the particular laws have the machinery for invalidating the transfer and may also contain penal provisions in that regard.

The critical portion of the judgement is as under:

It is reiterated that the Registration Act does not concern itself with the nature of transfer of alienation of properties, which are prohibited under other laws.  It only states what documents pertaining to certain transactions, which have to be registered compulsorily when they relate to immovable property and with regard to certain other transactions, which need not be registered.  The Act does not concern itself with the transactions, but relate to documents concerning transactions, which have to be registered compulsorily, in which event, provisions of the Act would have to complies with by the parties.  By the Impugned Circular, The Sub-Registrar can in no way prevent a document pertaining to a transaction, which is prohibited under various laws from being registered.  Once Those Transactions have taken place, the document pertaining to the transactions are registered under the Act, When the requirements of the Act are complied with.  Unless the document pertaining to the transaction is registered, the transaction under Various Acts, which are prohibited, namely transfer of land by sale etc., would not become invalid, as it is only when the document pertaining to the transaction is registered would result in the completion of the transaction by transfer of title and buy conveyance.  Therefore merely on an apprehension that a particular transaction may be prohibited under particular enactment, the Sub-Registrar cannot prohibit the registration of the document pertaining to the said transaction.  Rather it is only on completion of the transaction by the registration wherever registration is compulsory, that the transaction, prohibited under a particular law, would become null and void.  Therefore, even prior to the registration of document pertaining to ta transaction, it cannot be presumed that the transaction is prohibited under an enactment and thus, refuse registration of the document.  As already stated, a transaction is not complete until the document pertaining to a transaction is registered.  The Sub-registrar cannot assume the powers of a court or an authority to come to a conclusion that the transaction is prohibited under a particular enactment and thereby prohibit its registration. Then it would be a case of “putting the cart before the horse”.

Seconldy, Annexure -I of the impugned Circular prescribes the list of documents, which have to be produced along with documents of transfer at the time of registration.  Even the non-production of such documents ( Other than those documents prescribed under the Registration Act, 1908) cannot in any way prevent registration of transactions, which are null and void under certain Acts.  even if an affidavit is given by the transferor and transferee of land to the effect that there is no violation of any statute in the transfer of land, the said affidavit would not in any way be of any assistance when subsequently it is discovered that there was in fact an infraction of any of the provisions of a statute when the transfer of land took place.  Further, at the time of registration of documents pertaining to transfer of land, the Sub-Registrar cannot hold an enquiry as to whether any of the statutes or local laws have been violated.  If by transfer of land, there is an infraction of any of the local laws, then the particular laws have the machinery for invalidating the transfer and may also contain penal provisions in that regard.  Therefore, prior to the registration of the document, the transaction relating to the transfer of land being incomplete, the Sub – Registrar at that stage cannot prevent the transaction pertaining to transfer of land being completed on the assumption that there may be a violation of any of the local laws.