IMPORTANT POINT
The authorized officer of a bank must forward Sale Certificates to registration authorities as mandated by the Registration Act, 1908.

ORDER

Akula Venkata Sesha Sai, J.

1. Heard Smt. Nimmagadda Revathi, learned counsel for the petitioner and Smt. V.Dyumani, learned Standing Counsel for the Respondent-Bank and the learned Government Pleader for Stamps and Registration for Respondent Nos. 4 and 5.

2. The present Writ Petition is filed seeking a direction to the 3rd respondent-bank to forward copies of Sale Certificates issued in favour of the petitioner to the registration authorities for filing the same in Book No. 1 as per Section 89 of the Registration Act, 1908 (for short 'the Act'). In the public auction conducted under the provisions of Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Act, 2002, the subject properties were auctioned on 27.06.2016 and the petitioner herein emerged as a successful bidder. Pursuant to the confirmation of sale, the Respondent-Bank issued Sale Certificates also in favour of the petitioner on 13.07.2016. According to the petitioner, as advocated by the learned counsel for the Writ Petitioner, the petitioner herein submitted a number of representations to the Respondent- Bank authorities including the one on 24.07.2023 requesting to send the Sale Certificates to the concerned authorities for filing the same in Book No. 1 as per Section 89 of the Act.

3. The grievance of the petitioner in the above background is the failure on the part of the Respondent-bank authorities in sending Sale Certificates as requested by the petitioner herein. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that according to Sub-Section 4 of Section 89 r/w Section 17(2) (xii) of the Act, it is incumbent on the part of the Respondent-bank authorities to send the Certificates of Sale to the concerned registration authorities.

4. On the other hand, learned Standing Counsel for the Respondent-Bank strongly resisting the said contention submits that the Authorized Officer of the Bank does not fall under the provisions of neither the Civil Court nor the Revenue Officer, as such, there is no obligation on the part of the Authorized Officer to send the documents as requested by the petitioner unless the stamp duty together with the Registration fee is paid.

5. In this context, it may be appropriate to refer to the relevant provisions of the Registration Act, 1908. Section 17 of the Act deals with the documents of which the registration is compulsory. According to Section 17(2) (xii) of the Act to any certificate of sale granted to the purchaser of any property sold by public auction by a Civil or Revenue Officer nothing in Clauses (b) and (c) of Section 17(1) of the Act applies. Sub-Section 4 of Section 89 stipulates that every Revenue Officer granting a Certificate of Sale to the purchaser of the immovable property sold by public auction shall send a copy of the certificate to the Registering officer within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the whole or any part of the immovable property comprised in the certificate is situated, and such officer shall file the copy in his Book No. 1. The issue involved in the present Writ Petition is no longer res integra in view of the Judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Esjaypee impex Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Asst. General Manager and Authorized officer, Canara Bank (2021) 11 SCC 537. In the said Judgment, when a similar issue came up the Hon'ble Supreme Court at Paragraph No. 16 held as follows:-

"16. We are of the view that the mandate of law in terms of Section 17(2) (xii) read with Section 89(4) of the Registration Act, 1908 only required the authorized officer of the Bank under the SARFAESI Act to hand over the duly validated sale certificate to the auction-purchaser with a copy forwarded to the registering authorities to be filed in Book 1 as per Section 89 of the Registration Act".

6. In view of the aforesaid Judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the contention advanced by the learned Standing Counsel for the Respondent-Bank is neither sustainable nor tenable. The only relief which