Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | NXg | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

LEGAL CHAT

On the presentation for registration of a compulsorily registrable instrument, the registering authority is required under law to take the following legal steps:

He shall first verify whether the instrument has been presented for registration within the prescribed time and only on the instrument so filed in time can he proceed with the verification of the document and carry out other legal formalities for the completion of the registration.

The first exercise of the registering authority shall be to fix the actual stamp duty payable on the instrument. In fixing the duty, he shall find out the true nature and intent of the document as evidenced by the contents. From the same, he shall determine the specific legal category to which the instrument belongs and fix the stamp duty prescribed for the same.

In this regard, he is not bound by the title and description given by the parties but he can go beyond the same and fix the stamp duty in the manner mentioned above through his own independent judgment on the study of the document.

In Karnataka, in respect of registration of compulsorily registrable instruments, the registering authority shall fix the stamp duty on the basis of the value of the immovable property as per the statutory guidelines issued by the State Government.

If the “guideline value” is more than the value shown in the document, the stamp duty is fixed as per the “guideline value” only. On the other hand, if the value fixed in the document is higher than the “guideline value,” the higher value adopted in the instrument only will be taken into account in fixing the stamp duty payable.

When once the matters relating to stamp duty payable are verified and settled as above, the registering authority shall scrutinise the instrument in the following manner:

If there are any blanks, interlineations, errors or alterations in the document, the registering authority shall refuse to accept the document for registration unless the persons who have executed the document attest with their signatures and initials on such blanks, interlineations, errors or alterations.

The registering authority shall also make a note on the aforesaid attestation of such blanks, interlineations, errors or alterations in the register maintained at the registration office for this purpose (vide Section 20 of the Act).

The document presented for registration will not be accepted unless it contains a description of the immovable property (which is the subject matter of the document), which is sufficient to identify the same.

In this regard, there should be clear reference to the numbers allotted to the property, the territorial division, the town, the panchayat and the district etc., where the immovable property is located and situated (as indicated in maps and plans officially prepared by the government) clearly and completely without any doubt or ambiguity.

The registering authority may accept maps and plans as enclosures if they provide sufficient information to establish the clear identity of the immovable property. Such plans or maps shall be filed by the parties together with the true copies thereof (vide Section 21 of the Act).

Having satisfied with the compliance of the aforesaid legal requirements, the registering authority shall proceed with the registration of the document by taking the signatures of the parties presenting the document and comply with all other prescribed legal formalities for completing the registration.

When it is found that a compulsorily registrable document dealing with an immovable property has been presented by a wrong person before the registering authority and the same is registered without noticing this, the registration of the document becomes invalid. In such a case, the correct party to the document is entitled to present the correct document before the registering authority within a period of four months from the date on which he became aware of the earlier wrong and invalid registration of the document. When such a document is presented by the correct party for re-registration, the registering authority if satisfied about the correctness of the document and the parties presenting the same, shall register the document which becomes valid and final (vide Section 23A of the Act).

Section 24 deals with a situation where the compulsorily registrable document is executed by several persons at different points of time. In this regard, it is to be noted that the law permits a document being executed by different persons at different points of time at different places provided, however, such signing and execution by each person is duly attested by witnesses as per law and the date and place of execution are duly recorded.

In such cases, there can be separate registration for each of such parties subject to the condition that each such person shall present the document (as far as he is concerned) within four months from the date of his execution of the document.

Cases may arise where a registrable document is executed outside India by any one or more of the executants. In such cases, the document should be presented in India for registration within four months from the date of arrival of such document in India (vide Section 26). The main purport of this section is to cover cases where in respect of an immovable property in India, there may be co-owners or members of a Hindu Joint Family living outside India and such persons execute the document outside India.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail