A registration refusal without specific reasons contravenes proper procedural requirements as established by legal precedent.

ORDER

The writ petition has been filed seeking issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus to call for the records relating to the impugned check slip dated 24.11.2025 on the file of the respondent and to quash the same as illegal and arbitrary.

2. The case of the petitioner is that the property in question is a Grama Natham property. After the petitioner’s father passed away intestate on 30.05.1996, the property was inherited by the petitioner, his mother, and his siblings. Subsequently, the petitioner’s mother and sisters executed a settlement deed in favour of the petitioner. When the said document was presented before the respondent for registration, the impugned refusal check slip was issued. 3. A perusal of the impugned refusal check slip shows that it merely states:

“Government / HR & CE / Wakf Board / Boomidhan / Panchami Lands.” It is evident that no specific reason has been mentioned. Such a check slip cannot be issued without assigning proper reasons. Even in cases involving a request under Section 22-A of the Registration Act, 1908, the registering authority is required to follow the dictum laid down by the Division Bench of this Court in Sudha Ravi Kumar and another vs. The Special Commissioner and Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, Chennai and others¹

1 (2017) 3 CTC 135 and conduct an enquiry in that regard. It is useful to refer to paragraph 25 of the said judgment.

''25. In view of the above discussions, all the writ petitions are allowed and the impugned orders are set aside with the following directions:

(i) The registering authority before whom the document has been presented shall cause service of notice on the parties to the deeds and also to the objector / religious institution, hold summary enquiry, hear the parties and then either register or refuse to register the document by passing an order having regard to the relevant facts as indicated above.

(ii) If the registering authority, refuses to register any document by accepting the objections raised under Section 22-A of the Registration Act, the aggrieved may file a statutory appeal under the Act.

(iii) If the objections raised under Section 22-A of the Act by the religious institution are rejected and the document is registered, the remedy for the religious institution is to either approach this Court by way of a writ petition seeking cancellation of the registration or for any other relief or to approach the civil Court for declaration of the title and for other consequential reliefs.

(iv) If the registering authority refuses to register the document acting on the objections raised by a religious institution under Section 22-A of the Registration Act, the parties to the deed will be at liberty to straightaway approach the Civil Court for declaration of title and other relief without availing the opportunity for filing a statutory appeal.

(v) We further direct that if the deed has already been registered without there being any objection by the religious institution under Section 22-A of the Act, the document shall be returned to the parties concerned leaving it open for the religious institution to approach either the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India or the Civil Court for appropriate relief as indicated above. At any rate, the registering authority shall not withhold the deed which has already been registered.

(vi) Consequently the connected miscellaneous petitions are closed. No costs.''

4. Accordingly, the impugned check slip dated 24.11.2025 is set aside. The respondent is directed to issue notice to the petitioner, consider the matter afresh, and pass appropriate orders in accordance with law, more specifically, in the light of the directions issued by the Division Bench of this Court in Sudha Ravi Kumar’s case (ci