The main questions involved in the writ petitions are whether the registering authority is under a statutory duty to accept a properly stamped deed/document presented for registration, compulsorily and whether the scope of enquiry by the registering authority is confined to section 34 and section 71 of the Registration Act, 1908 only?

2. Before adverting to the rival contentions, a look at various provisions contained in Registration Act, 1908 would be useful. The Registration Act is designed to guard against fraud by obtaining a contemporaneous publication and an impeachable record of document. Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908 provides that the following documents shall be registered, compulsorily;

(a) instruments of gift of immovable property;

(b) other non-testamentary instruments which purport or operate to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent, of the value of one hundred rupees and upwards, to or in immovable property;

(c) non-testamentary instruments which acknowledge the receipt or payment of any consideration on account of the creation, declaration, assignment, limitation or extinction of any such right, title or interest; and

(d) leases of immovable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent;

(e) non-testamentary instruments transferring or assigning any decree or order of a Court or any award when such decree or order or award purports or operates to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent, of the value of one hundred rupees and upwards, to or in immovable property.

3. Proviso to Section 17(1) exempts a lease executed for a period not exceeding 5 years and the annual rent reserved for which is not exceeding Rs. 50/, from compulsory registration. By an amendment vide, Act 48 of 2001, subsection (1A) was inserted in Section 17, providing compulsory registration of the documents containing contracts for transfer for consideration in immovable property for the purpose of Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1982. Subsection (1A) of Section 17 provides that if such documents are not registered, they shall have no effect for the purposes of Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act. Subsection (2) of Section 17 enumerates list of documents/deeds which are not covered under Section 17(a) (b) and (c). Section 18 makes registration of certain documents optional. Sections 21 and 22 provides that certain documents relating to immovable property shall not be accepted for registration unless, those contain description of such property sufficient to identify the same. In certain cases, description of property is required to be given by reference to a government map or survey. Section 28 provides presentation of certain documents covered under Sections 17 and 18 to be presented for registration in the office of Sub-Registrar within whose sub-district the whole or some portion of the property to which the document relates is situated. It is thus, apparent that acceptance of a documents presented for registration before the Sub-Registrar/Registrar is not a ministerial act. The concerned Sub-Registrar is required to verify certain details as mandated under the Registration Act.

4. Part VI of the Registration Act, 1908 deals with “presentation of documents for registration”. Section 32 specifies three categories of person who can present document for registration. Section 32(a) provides that a document can be presented for registration by:

(i) the person executing the document;

(ii) any person claiming under the document presented for registration; and

(iii) in the case the said document is a copy of a decree or order, any person claiming under the decree or order.

5. However, clauses (b) and (c) deal with cases where the document is presented by persons other than the