The main legal point established in the judgment is that the Registering Authorities must provide specific reasons for refusal to register documents, and they are obligated to entertain and release documents in compliance with court orders.

ORDER:

Heard Mr. V. Ravi Kiran Rao, learned senior counsel representing Mr. V. Rohith, Mr. Surendra Desai, Mr. Srinivasa Rao Putluri and Mr. K. Venu Madhav, learned counsel appearing on behalf of respective petitioners, other learned counsel for the remaining petitioners, learned Government Pleader for Revenue appearing for the official respondents and Mr. G. V. Mallikarjuna Rao, learned counsel appearing for the unofficial respondents.

2. The lis involved in this batch of writ petitions is one and the same. Therefore, they are heard together and decided by this common order.

3. The grievance of the petitioners in all these writ petitions is to declare the action of the respondent authorities, more particularly, the District Registrar and the Sub-Registrar in not entertaining the documents submitted by the petitioners for registration, and not releasing the same even after completion of registration formalities.

4. It is contended by the petitioners that the Vendors are owners of their respective extents in respective survey numbers, the details of which are specifically mentioned. The Registering Authority is not registering the properties without assigning any reasons. It is further contended that the respondents are not entertaining the registrations on the ground that they have received oral instructions from their Higher Officials and in some cases they have issued memos stating that no sale deeds will be registered.

5. According to the parties, the action of non-registration of the properties in Rekurthi Village is due to the disputes involved in W.P. Nos. 25622 of 2003, 25824 of 2003, 25825 of 2003, 25826 of 2003, 25829 of 2003. The Respondent authorities have, time and again, addressed various communications asking the Sub-Registrar to desist from registering any properties falling in the survey numbers.

6. In the present writ petitions, the Tahsildar, Kothapally addressed a letter dated 26.07.2018 to the Sub-Registrar, Gangadhara village requesting not register any properties till final orders are passed in W.P. Nos. 24485 of 2003, 25622 of 2003, 25824 of 2003, 25825 of 2003, 25826 of 2003, 25827 of 2003, 25829 of 2003 and 84 of 2004. Subsequently, a note Endt.No.PC/3187/2018 dated 28.07.2018 was addressed by the District Registrar, Stamps and Registration, Karimnagar to the Sub-Registrar, Gangadhara to restrain from registering properties appended to the said note dated 28.07.2018. The said note includes survey numbers which are not covered by the writ petitions in W.P. Nos. 25622 of 2003, 25824 of 2003, 25825 of 2003, 25826 of 2003, 25829 of 2003.

7. Further, is relevant to note that in none of the writ petitions, the Registering Authorities have given any reasons in writing for refusal to register the documents. The learned Government Pleader for Revenue would submit that the lands in Rekurthi Village are covered by writ petitions and also the order passed by a Division Bench of this Court in W.A. No.202 of 2020 and, therefore, the Registering Authorities were right in refusing to register the documents produced by the petitioners. However, he fairly submitted that as per Section - 71 of the Registration Act, 1908 (for short ‘Act, 1908’), the Registering Authorities shall give the reasons for refusal to register documents.

8. In view of the above said submissions, it is relevant to refer to Section

- 71 of the Act, 1908 and also Rule - 58 of the Telangana Rules under the Registration Act, 1908 (for short ‘Rules’).

“71. Reasons for refusal to register to be recorded.—

(1) Every Sub-Registrar refusing to register a document, except on the ground that the property to which it relates is not situate within his subdistrict, shall make an order of refusal and record his reasons for such order in his Book No. 2, and endorse the words “registration refused” on the document; and, on application made by any person executing or cla