Telangana High Court Issues Guidelines To Streamline Document Registration Process, Curb Unnecessary Litigation

In a significant ruling aimed at addressing widespread issues in the document registration process, the Telangana High Court has issued comprehensive guidelines to streamline procedures and reduce unnecessary litigation.

The common order, delivered by Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar on July 9, in a batch of 24 writ petitions, addresses recurring problems faced by citizens in getting their documents registered and provides clear directives to registration authorities.

The Court observed that sub-registrars were often refusing to register documents on grounds that had already been settled by previous court orders, forcing citizens to repeatedly approach the courts for relief. This practice was not only burdening the citizens but also leading to a significant increase in avoidable litigation.

“….the concerned Sub-Registrar is not able to interpret or understand the orders passed by this Court in a proper way and is repeatedly passing refusal orders and thereby insisting the citizens/ parties to obtain Court order, which is nothing but burdening the citizens/parties and also the Court to adjudicate the matters which have already been decided by this Court earlier and attained finality...the Registering Authorities would further insist for Court order and relegate the citizens/parties to the Court and if the buyer intends to subsequently sell the property...which is nothing but total abuse of law,” the Court said.

Justice Kumar noted that in many cases, sub-registrars were not exercising their powers in accordance with the Registration Act, of 1908 and the Indian Stamp Act, 1899.

To address these issues, the High Court issued several guidelines to the Principal Secretary of Revenue (Registration & Stamps) Department and the District Registrar. The Court also directed the Commissioner & Inspector General of Stamps and Registration to issue circulars, memos, orders, or instructions to their subordinates for effectively implementing the provisions of the relevant Acts and court directions.

Key guidelines issued by the Court include:

1. Registration authorities must either register documents or pass refusal orders within one week of presentation, communicating the decision in writing to the concerned parties.

2. The procedure for refund of stamp duty and registration charges should be simplified, with clear communication to parties before payment.

3. Sub-registrars should not insist on court orders for registration of documents on grounds that have already been settled by previous court orders, unless there is a pending appeal.

4. A watch register or general diary must be maintained at every sub-registrar's office to record entries of parties approaching the office, preventing interference, tampering, and misrepresentation.

5. Registration authorities must follow guidelines issued in previous landmark cases, such as Vinjamuri Rajagopla Chary v. State of Andhra Pradesh and M/s. Invecta Technologies Private Limited v. Government of Andhra Pradesh.

The Court also provided instructions to concerned parties, advising them to ensure their presence is recorded in the office register and to verify that the proposed property is not on the prohibited list before approaching the registrar's office.

Justice Kumar emphasized the importance of obedience to court orders, citing the Supreme Court's judgment in Maninderjit Singh Bitta v. Union of India & others, which held that non-implementation of court orders could lead to contempt of court.

Finally, the Court directed the Registry to convey this order to all concerned officials.

“The Registry is directed to communicate a copy of this order to all the authorities mentioned in the order, in particular, Commissioner & Inspector General of Stamps and Registration, Telangana State, the guidelines for their information and effective implementation forthwith in accordance with the procedure established by law.”

W.P.Nos.16799 of 2024 & batch

Anantha Rameshwari Devi vs State of TS and Batch

Counsel for respondent: GP FOR STAMPS AND REGISTRATION

Click Here To Read/Download Order