K. Gopi vs Sub-Registrar 2025 INSC 462 - Registration Act - Title Examination
Registration Act 1908 - No provision under the 1908 Act confers power on any authority to refuse registration of a transfer document on the ground that the documents regarding the title of the vendor are not produced, or if his title is not established. (Para 11) It is not the function of the Sub-Registrar or Registering Authority to ascertain whether the vendor has title to the property which he is seeking to transfer. Once the registering authority is satisfied that the parties to the document are present before him and the parties admit execution thereof before him, subject to making procedural compliances as narrated above, the document must be registered. The execution and registration of a document have the effect of transferring only those rights, if any, that the executant possesses. If the executant has no right, title, or interest in the property, the registered document cannot effect any transfer. (Para 15)
Registration Rules under the Registration Act, 1908 - Rule 55A(i) is inconsistent with the provisions of the 1908 Act and declared as ultra vires the 1908 Act - Rule 55A empowered the registering officer to refuse registration unless the presentant produces the original deed by which the executant acquired rights over the subject property and an encumbrance certificate pertaining to the property, obtained within ten days from the date of presentation. (Para 13)
