Authorities are obliged to return title deeds if no legal impediments exist against such return.

1. A property purchased by the petitioner was submitted for registration in the office of the Sub- Registrar, Guma, North 24 Parganas in September 2005. The IGR receipt number issued to the petitioner is 932098. Allegation is that the original deed has not been returned.

2. The petitioner submits that due to pendency of a criminal case against the District Sub-Registrar, the title deed was kept in custody.

3. It has been submitted that the said criminal case being Special Case No.19 of 2007 has been dropped by the learned Judge, Special Court, 3^rd Court, Barasat on October 3, 2013. The petitioner prays for return of the deed.

4. Learned counsel for the State has obtained instruction from the Additional District Sub- Registrar, Guma signed on August 12, 2025. It appears therefrom that the ADSR had communicated to the IGR & CSR, West Bengal for removing the restriction to deliver 165 deeds of

2006, including the deed of the petitioner. A letter was also forwarded to the District Registrar, but no order has been received by ADSR for releasing the deeds.

5. The Court is of the opinion that if the criminal case which was filed for embezzlement of Government revenue has been dropped and there is no other impediment on the part of the authority to return the deeds, then the authority would be obliged to return the deeds in question.

6. Learned counsel for the State is, therefore, directed to obtain further instruction from the Inspector General of Registration & Commissioner of Stamp Revenue, West Bengal as regards return of the deed of the petitioner.

7. Relist on August 27, 2025.

8. Memo No.101 dated August 12, 2025 placed in Court be taken on record.

9. All parties are to act on the server copy of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this Court.

10. Certified copy of this order, if applied for, shall be made available to the parties.