The main legal point established is that the registering authority cannot refuse registration based on ownership issues and must adhere to the requirements of the Registration Act, 1908.

1. The sale deeds executed by the petitioners having been refused to be registered in favour of the vendees, they have approached this Court under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India seeking quashing of the impugned order dated 16.12.2004, Annexure P.8.

2. Brief facts as narrated in the petition may be noticed. The land in dispute is comprised in Khewat No.3, Khatauni No.5/6, Khasra Nos. 62, total measuring 32 kanals 12 marlas, Tehsil Naraingarh, District Ambala, as per jamabandi for the year 1999- 2000. In the column of ownership, the land has been recorded in the name of one Tikka Parduman Singh son of Rao Prithi Singh son of Rao Baldev Singh and others. Petitioner Nos. 1 and 2 are owners in possession of land measuring 1 marla and two marlas respectively out of this land. The petitioners had purchased the said piece of land from its original previous owner namely Kanwar Nagender Singh son of Rao Prithi Singh vide registered sale deed dated 29.4.1997. Now in order to sell their land, both the petitioners presented their sale deeds on 22.3.2002 in the office of respondent No.2 after affixing the stamp duty etc. Since no action was taken by respondent No.2, petitioner No.1 made a representation to him on 10.4.2002. Respondent No.2 referred the matter to the Registrar, Ambala for clarification. The Registrar in turn referred back the case to respondent No.2 to decide the same as per law but still the sale deeds had not been registered. Thereafter, the petitioners filed CWP No.8046 of 2002 in this Court. Vide order dated 27.1.2003, Annexure P.6, the writ petition was disposed of with a direction to respondent No.2 to pass appropriate orders in accordance with law within one month from the date of receipt of a certified copy of the order. The petitioners moved an application dated 25.10.2004, Annexure P.7 before respondent No.2 alongwith the documents. On 16.12.2004, Annexure P.8, respondent No.2 passed the impugned order refusing to register the sale deeds. Hence this petition.

3. According to the learned counsel, the petitioners had purchased the property from Kanwar Nagender Singh son of Rao Prithi Singh, owner of the land in the year 1997 and the instrument of transfer was registered by the Sub Registrar, Naraingarh, District Ambala, respondent No.2. However, when the petitioners sought to transfer the same land, the authority refused to register the sale deeds on twin grounds - (a) description of the property was not given and (ii) property was Shamlat deh within the meaning of Section 2(g) of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (in short, “the Act”).

4. Learned counsel for the petitioners referred to various provisions of the Registration Act, 1908 (in short, “the 1908 Act”) to submit that the requirements as envisaged there under stood complied with and the Sub Registrar could not refuse registration of the sale deeds. The description of the property had been duly incorporated in the sale deeds. On the strength of Division Bench decision of this Court in Hari Singh and another v. Sub Registrar, Narnaul and others, (1998) 3 PLR 787, it was contended that question of ownership could not be delved into by Sub Registrar while exercising jurisdiction with regard to registration of the property. He had no authority to refuse registration on that ground.

5. Controverting the aforesaid submissions, learned State counsel referred to Annexure R.1 to submit that the Registrar, Ambala had addressed a communication to Sub Registrar, Naraingarh on 8.12.2004 stating that the land in dispute was Shamlat as it was kept for use for common purposes and thus, vested in the Gram Panchayat and could not be sold.

6. After giving thoughtful consideration to the respective submissions, I find that no justifiable reason has been given for not registering the documents.

7. It would be expedient to refer to the relevant provisions of the 1908 Act. Under Section 21 of the 1908 Act, the description of the property i