Madras High Court
GOKULAKRISHNAN
S.Rangaraju - Appellant
Versus
Sulochana Ammal - Respondent
Decided On : 09/26/1969
Indian Registration Act - Sections 35, 73, 75, and 77 - The court analyzed these sections to determine the power of the Registrar to direct the registration of a document with only one executant, even if others deny execution. The court concluded that the Registrar has this power.
Fact of the Case:
The plaintiff filed a suit under Section 77 of the Indian Registration Act for a decree directing the Registrar to register a document. The first defendant (appellant) and the other three defendants executed a sale deed in favor of the plaintiff. The first defendant received partial payment at the time of execution and the balance was to be paid at the time of registration. However, the defendants evaded registration. The plaintiff appealed to the District Registrar, but the appeal was dismissed. The plaintiff then filed the present suit. The trial court granted a decree directing the Registrar to register part of the sale related to the execution by the appellant. On appeal, the finding was confirmed. The appellant argued that the entire document should be registered and that the document was not genuine. The court held that the document could be registered with only one executant and that there was no finding on the genuineness of the document. The second appeal was dismissed.
Finding of the Court:
The court analyzed Sections 35, 73, 75, and 77 of the Indian Registration Act. It referred to a previous decision by the Privy Council and an amendment to Section 35. The court concluded that the Registrar has the power to direct a document to be registered by one executant, even if others deny execution. The court also cited a decision from the Rajasthan High Court supporting this interpretation. The court held that the lower courts were correct in directing the Registrar to register the document with the first defendant as the executant.
Ratio Decidendi: The Registrar has the power to direct a document to be registered by one executant, even if others deny execution.
Result: The second appeal was dismissed with costs.
JUDGMENT :- The first defendant is the appellant in this Second Appeal. The Plaintiff has filed the suit under Section 77 of the Indian Registration Act for a decree directing the Registrar to register a document.
2. The case of the plaintiff is that the first defendant (appellant) and the other three defendants constitute a joint family, that the defendants 1 to 3 and the first defendant as guardian of the fourth defendant executed a sale deed on 15-6-1961 for Rs. 4,000/- in favour of the plaintiff in respect of the suit property, that the first defendant received Rs. 3,500/- at the time of the execution and the balance was reserved to be paid at the time of the registration. The plaintiff was put in possession of the suit property. The first defendant had come with the scribe from Dindigul to Alanganallur for executing the sale deed and the plaintiff paid Rs. 320/- to the first defendant for the purchase of the Stamp papers. After the first defendant executed the sale deed he demanded the consideration and the plaintiff stated that the consideration would be paid only after the execution of the sale deed by defendants 2 and 3. Immediately the first defendant went with the sale deed to Dindigul and returned the same evening. He represented that the defendants 2 and 3 also have signed the sale deed. Then the consideration of Rs. 3,500/- was paid to the first defendant (appellant). Thereafter the defendants evaded to register the document. Then the plaintiff presented the document before the Sub-Registrar, Alanganallur for compulsory registration. But the Sub-Registrar passed an order on 13-9-1961 refusing to register the document. The plaintiff then filed an appeal to the District Registrar under Section 77 (73?) of the Indian Registration Act. The appeal was dismissed after an enquiry on 25-6-1962 and therefore the plaintiff filed the present suit.
3. Defendants 1 to 3 filed a written statement and the guardian of the fourth defendant adopted the same. As far as the first defendant is concerned he has stated that he executed the document thinking that it was a lease deed. As far as the other defendants are concerned, they denied execution of the document.
4. The learned District Munsif accepted the case of the plaintiff so far as the first defendant is concerned and granted a decree directing the Registrar to register part of the sale so far as it related to the execution by the appellant herein and dismissed the suit as against defendants 2 and
3. On appeal, the learned Additional Subordinate Judge of Madurai confirmed the finding of the learned District Munsif. As regards the defendants 2 and 3 the finding is that the signatures have not been proved by the plaintiff. Only on that ground the trial court has refused to direct registration of the document along with defendants 2 and 3. The plaintiff has not preferred any cross-objections against this denial of her right and the same is not the subject-matter before this Court.
5. The learned Advocate for the appellant states that under Section 77 of the Indian Registration Act, the Court can only direct the entire document to be registered and there is no question of its registration as against any particular person. Then he contends that such a document can be registered as against a particular person only when he is the sole executant and when he admits the execution of it. The third point raised by the appellant is that there is a definite finding to the effect that the document is not probably genuine and hence the Court should not have granted registration. As regards the third contention, I do not find any finding by the Courts below as to the genuineness of the document. The learned District Munsif in paragraph 15 of his Judgment states that it is for the plaintiff to positively show that the defendants 2 and 3 executed the document by putting the signatures thereto and this has not been proved by her. Hence this finding will not amount to conclude that the documen
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