LEGAL LEARNING – SHRI GANPATI JURISTS
📚 Legal Learning – Unregistered Sale Agreements and Ownership Rights
In a key ruling, the Hon’ble Supreme Court clarified that an unregistered sale agreement cannot convey valid title, even if a subsequent transaction based on the same is registered later.
The case involved a situation where an agreement to sell, executed in 1982, was never registered as required under the Registration Act, 1908. The party in possession later claimed ownership and protection from dispossession based on this unregistered document, which was allegedly validated by an Assistant Registrar in 2006.
The Supreme Court held that the defect of non-registration is not curable merely by a later administrative validation or subsequent registration. The Court emphasized that Section 23 of the Registration Act allows only four months from the date of execution for a document to be registered, and Section 34 permits limited condonation of delay with fine.
However, once the statutory period lapses, the original document loses its legal efficacy, and no title or interest in immovable property can be claimed on the basis of such an instrument.
Accordingly, the Court set aside the High Court’s decision, ruling that no valid title or protection could be granted on the strength of the unregistered sale agreement.
Takeaway:
✅ An unregistered agreement to sell cannot transfer title or ownership.
✅ Delayed validation does not cure the mandatory registration requirement under the law.
✅ Timely registration is crucial for enforceability of property transactions.
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