1. Application for No Objection Certificate under Section 21A Registration Act — Delay beyond statutory 30-day period. (Para 2 , 4 , 5 )
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2026 Supreme(Gau) 1344
THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
MANISH CHOUDHURY, J.
Kartik Rabidas, S/o - Late Jatilal Rabidas And Ors. – Petitioners
Versus
The State Of Assam Represented By The Principal Secretary, Revenue And Disaster Management Department And Ors. – Respondents
Wp(C)/3735 Of 2026
Decided On : 22-07-2026
Important Points
Under Section 21A of the Registration Act (Assam amendment), the Deputy Commissioner must issue a No Objection Certificate or a speaking order within 30 days; delay beyond that without justification is impermissible.
Subject
Property Law - Registration of Documents
Act Referred
REGISTRATION ACT: S.21(a)
Headnote
(A) Registration Act, 1908 - Section 21A - Registration [Assam Amendment] Act, 2009 - Registration [Assam Amendment] Act, 2021 - Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) notified on 09.09.2025 - No Objection Certificate (NOC) for transfer of land - Statutory mandate to issue NOC or a speaking order with reasons within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of application - Delay beyond the prescribed period without a speaking order is impermissible - Direction to process the application within thirty days.
Facts of the case:
The petitioners, owners of a parcel of land, applied for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) under Section 21A of the Registration Act, as amended, for the sale of a part of the land. The application was submitted offline on 11.02.2026 due to the non-availability of online facility owing to incomplete official survey. Despite the lapse of more than five months, the application was not processed to finality. The petitioners approached the High Court seeking a direction for early disposal.
Findings of Court:
The court noted the admitted position that the application had not been finalized despite the passage of over five months. It referred to the statutory mandate under Section 21A and the SOP notified on 09.09.2025, both of which prescribe a period of thirty days from the date of application for processing. The court directed the respondent authorities to bring the entire process to its conclusion within an outer limit of thirty days from the date of submission of a certified copy of the order, with a provision for fifteen days to inform the petitioners of any deficiencies.
Issues: The main issue was whether the delay in processing the NOC application beyond the statutory period of thirty days was justified.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that under Section 21A of the Registration Act and the SOP, the Deputy Commissioner is required to either issue the NOC or pass a speaking order with reasons within thirty days from the date of application. Any delay beyond that period without a speaking order contravenes the statutory prescription. The court directed strict compliance.
Result: Writ petition disposed of with directions, no cost.
Facts of the case:
The petitioners, owners of a parcel of land, applied for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) under Section 21A of the Registration Act, as amended, for the sale of a part of the land. The application was submitted offline on 11.02.2026 due to the non-availability of online facility owing to incomplete official survey. Despite the lapse of more than five months, the application was not processed to finality. The petitioners approached the High Court seeking a direction for early disposal.
Findings of Court:
The court noted the admitted position that the application had not been finalized despite the passage of over five months. It referred to the statutory mandate under Section 21A and the SOP notified on 09.09.2025, both of which prescribe a period of thirty days from the date of application for processing. The court directed the respondent authorities to bring the entire process to its conclusion within an outer limit of thirty days from the date of submission of a certified copy of the order, with a provision for fifteen days to inform the petitioners of any deficiencies.
Issues: The main issue was whether the delay in processing the NOC application beyond the statutory period of thirty days was justified.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that under Section 21A of the Registration Act and the SOP, the Deputy Commissioner is required to either issue the NOC or pass a speaking order with reasons within thirty days from the date of application. Any delay beyond that period without a speaking order contravenes the statutory prescription. The court directed strict compliance.
Result: Writ petition disposed of with directions, no cost.
Legal Category Hierarchy
Advocates Appeared:
For The Petitioner: Mr. S K Talukdar, Mr. J M A Choudhury, L P Borah, Ms. M Paul,K G Chowdhury
For The Respondent: Sc, Revenue, Ga, Assam
For The Petitioner: Mr. S K Talukdar, Mr. J M A Choudhury, L P Borah, Ms. M Paul,K G Chowdhury
For The Respondent: Sc, Revenue, Ga, Assam
Table of Contents
2. Petitioners sought completion of NOC process; respondents acknowledged application pending and offline mode. (Para 2 , 3 , 5 )
3. Writ disposed — Direction to respondent to finalise NOC within 30 days of receiving court order copy. (Para 10 , 11 )
4. What is the statutory time limit for issuing a No Objection Certificate under Section 21A of the Registration Act?
The Deputy Commissioner must issue the NOC or a speaking order with reasons within 30 days from receipt of the application. (Para 7 , 8 , 9 )
5. What is the procedure when an authority finds an NOC application deficient?
The authority must inform the applicant in writing of the deficiency within 15 days, and the 30-day processing period resets from compliance. (Para 10 )
JUDGMENT :
MANISH CHOUDHURY, J.
Heard Mr. J.M.A. Choudhury, learned counsel for the petitioner; Ms. N. Bordoloi, learned Standing Counsel, Revenue Department for the respondent no. 1; and Mr. J. Handique, learned Junior Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent nos. 2 – 5.
2. The case of the petitioners is that they had submitted an application for No Objection Certificate [NOC] for transfer of a plot of land under Section 21A of the Registration Act, 1908, as amended, by the Registration [Assam Amendment] Act, 2009. It is the contention of the petitioners that as official survey operation relating to the concerned area, mentioned in the application, has not yet been completed, the facility to submit the application online, was not available to the petitioners, at the time of submission of the application on 11.02.2026. Therefore, the application through offline mode seeking issuance of the NOC was submitted before the competent authority, acknowledgement of which was received as Document no. 40A.
3. Both Ms. Bordoloi and Mr. Hazarika have accepted the position that for the area in question, an application for No Objection Certificate [NOC] is to be submitted in the offline mode in view of non-availability of the facility to submit it online. They have submitted that the application is required to be processed as the Standard Operating Procedure [SOP], notified by a Notification dated 09.09.2025.
4. Mr. Choudhury has submitted that the petitioner nos. 1 & 2 are the owners of a parcel of land, covered by Dag nos. 705 & 703 & Patta nos. 170 & 165, situate in Pargana – Prathapghar, Mouza – Rajabari, District – Sribhumi, Assam and in order to sell a part out of the said parcel of land, measuring 8 Kathas at an agreed consideration of Rs. 42,00,000/-, they had entered into an Agreement for Sale of the said part of land with the petitioner no. 3. Thereafter, the application for the NOC was submitted on 11.02.2026.
5. It is the case of the petitioners that as the said application for NOC has not been processed to its finality despite elapse of more than five months since 11.02.2026, the petitioners are constrained to approach this Court by the instant writ petition seeking inter alia a direction to the respondent authorities, more particularly, the respondent no. 2 to bring the process of issuance of No Objection Certificate [NOC] to its finality at the earliest.
6. The Registration Act, 1908 came to be amended by the Registration [Assam] Amendment Act, 2009 with the insertion of Section 21A, and again, by the Registration [Assam Amendment] Act, 2021. After those amendments, Section 21A of the Registration Act, 2009 reads as under :-
21A. Notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this Act, no non - testamentary instrument relating to immovable property, except for house, flat, residential apartment, commercial building or any construction or structure erected on a plot of land, shall be accepted for registration, unless the Deputy Commissioner of the concerned district issues a No Objection Certificate containing the description of such immovable property to be transferred and also such other No objection Certificates, which are required to be issued by the Deputy Commissioner or any other Authority under any law for the time being in force or under any Executive Instruction, Order etc. issued by the State Government from time to time;
Provided that all such No Objection Certificates shall be issued within a period of thirty days from the date of the receipt of application and in case No Objection Certificate is not issued within the stipulated period of thirty days, a speaking order with reasons thereof shall be issued to the applicant within the said stipulated period.
7. It is a statutory mandate under Section 21A of the Registration Act for the jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner to either issue a No Objection Certificate [NOC] containing the description of the immovable property to be transferred or to pass a speakin
