Re-registration of a Sale Deed after 21 years does not invalidate the original document acknowledged under the Registration Act, 1908.

1. The Writ of Declaration is preferred to declare that the reregistration done on 9.9.2015, as document No.14/2015 by the third respondent, by receiving a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- towards deficit registration charges and stamp duty on the basis of registration done by the fourth respondent on 5.9.1994, registered as Document No.9268/1994 is illegal and liable to be declared as null and void and not binding on the petitioners on the basis of their representation dated 15.10.2016.

2. The learned counsel, appearing for the writ petitioners, made a sole ground that the re - registration of the Sale Deed executed by the contesting respondents are in violation of the provisions of the Registration Act, 1908 and further such a re - registration was done after a lapse of about 21 years from the date of the original registration of execution of the Sale Deed during the year 1994.

3. The learned counsel for the writ petitioners is of an opinion that the original Sale Deed between the parties was executed on 5.9.1994 before the Sub-Registrar Office in Kerala State. Now, oral submission is made by the learned counsel for the writ petitioners that the said Sale Deed dated 5.9.1994 is under challenge in a civil suit between the parties. The said Sale Deed was registered before the fourth respondent / The Sub-Registrar, Parasala SRO, Vennoor, Neyyattinkara Taluk, Trivandrum District, Kerala.

4. The grievances of the writ petitioners are that they have executed a Power of Attorney in favour of the respondents 6 to 17, who in turn executed another Sale Deed in proceedings dated 9.9.2015, after a lapse of about 21 years. Thus, the writ petitioners are of the opinion that the said re - registration is null and void.

5. The learned counsel, appearing on behalf of the respondents 6 to 17, opposed the contentions of the learned counsel for the writ petitioners, by stating that the re - registration was executed based on the Power of Attorney registered by the writ petitioners and there was no infirmity, as such, in respect of the execution of Sale Deed before the Sub Registrar Office in the State of Tamil Nadu. The re - registration through the Power of Attorney was executed on account of the fact that an Amendment was issued to S.28 of the Registration Act, 1908 . Thus, it was necessitated for the parties to execute an another Sale Deed in the State of Tamil Nadu, in view of the fact that the parties have decided to sell the property to some other third party and they could not able to sell by virtue of the Sale Deed registered in the State of Kerala.

6. The learned Special Government Pleader, appearing on behalf of the respondents 1 to 4, clarified the legal position, by stating that the amendment came into force with effect from 29.3.1997. Thus, any document registered outside the State of Tamil Nadu becomes null and void only thereafter. In other words, the documents in respect of immovable property situated in the State of Tamil Nadu, if registered in any other State after 29.3.1997, then alone the documents became null land void. However, the documents / instruments registered prior to 29.3.1997 are valid in the eye of law and re - registration is not required in respect of these documents.

7. This Court is of an opinion that the Amendment Notification published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette is enclosed in page No.39 of the typed set of papers filed along with the writ petition by the writ petitioners. The amendment came into force with effect from 29.3.1997. For S.28 of the Act, the following Section is substituted, namely,
'28. Place for registering documents relating to land. - Save as in this Part otherwise provided. -

(a) every document mentioned in