VENKATADRI J.

These two writ petitions are filed by the mortgagor and the mortgagee respectively for the issue of a writ of mandamus to deliver to them the deed of simple mortgage executed by the mortgagor (Padmakan Singh) in favour of the mortgagee (The Coimbatore Vasunthara Bank Limited) and registered on May 15, 1963 The circumstances that led to the filing of the writ petitions are these Srimathi Padmakan Singh, the petitioner in W. P. No. 799 of 1963, is a permanent resident of Coimbatore. She owns the property, No. 17/73, Oppanakara Street, Coimbatore. Her husband is carrying on business at Coimbatore, and is assessed to income-tax. She applied to the Coimbatore Vasunthara Bank for a loan of Rs. 50, 000 on the mortgage of her house mentioned above. As she did not desire to attend the office of the registering officer, she wrote a letter on May 15, 1963, requesting the officer, the Third Joint Sub-Registrar, Coimbatore, to go over to her residence, for the purpose of registering the document on payment of the necessary fees. The Sub-Registrar came to her residence on May 15, 1963. The Sub-Registrar showed her a letter in which it was alleged that income-tax assessment proceedings against her husband were pending, that the property which she held in her name was really benami for him, and that no document dealing with the said property should be registered. Nevertheless, the Sub-Registrar proceeded with the registration of the document. The mortgagor admitted the execution of the document. The particulars were endorsed. The money payable to the mortgagor was paid by the nortgagee's agent, in the presence of the Sub-Registrar, and an endorsement to that effect was also made on the document. The registering officer also affixed his signature and date to the document. Afterwards, the Sub-Registrar took the document in order to copy the contents of the document in Book No. 1 and the document was given the number P. 20/63 in Book No. 1, but there is no word "registered" Thereafter, the Sub-Registrar addressed a letter on May 16, 1963, to the District Registrar, Coimbatore, seeking his instructions, in view of the letter received by him from the income-tax authorities, before taking further proceedings for the completion of the registration of the document. The District Registrar directed the Sub-Registrar not to complete registration of the document unless the mortgagor produced a certificate to the effect that she had paid all the income-tax, presumably due and payable by her husband. The District Registrar, Coimbatore, also wrote a letter to the mortgagor on July 12, 1963, that a declaration had been received by him under section 2(ii) of the Payment of Taxes (Transfer of Property) Act, 1949 (Act XXII of 1949), from the Income-tax Officer and directed her to produce a certificate under section 3 of that Act. The District Registrar also stated that the document in question had not yet been admitted to registration

The mortgagor has stated that she is a person permanently residing in India and does not propose to leave India, that as far as she is concerned, she has no hesitation to pay whatever amount is due and payable by her to the income-tax department by way of tax, presumably meaning thereby that she is not responsible or liable to pay the amount of tax due and payable by her husband

According to the mortgagor, on May 15, 1963, there was no declaration such as that provided in section 2(ii) of the Payment of Taxes (Transfer of Property) Act, which prevented the registration of the document and, inasmuch as, having accepted the document and having complied with all the formalities under the Registration Act, there was no choice left with the registering officer except to comply with the other formalities under the Act and deliver the documentAs far as the mortgagee-bank is concerned, their contention is that they have no knowledge of any claim of tax due and payable by the mortgagor, that the title to the property