The registering authority must conduct a summary inquiry and provide an opportunity for hearing instead of summarily refusing to register a document based on objections from a religious institution.

ORDER

Feeling aggrieved by the rejection of his application for registration of sale deed by the 5^th respondent, the present writ petition has been filed.

2. Mr.U.Baranidharan, learned Special Government Pleader, accepts notice on behalf of the respondents 1, 4 and 5 and Mr.K.Karthikeyan, learned Government Advocate (HR & CE), accepts notice on behalf of the respondents 2 and 3.

3. The petitioner claims that he intended to purchase a plot measuring 4,309 sq.ft. from his vendor, Jose Charles Martin. According to the petitioner, the vendor had initially bought 11.82½ acres in Telungupalayam Village, Coimbatore North Taluk, Coimbatore District and subsequently, developed a residential layout from the said larger tract, selling individual plots to various purchasers. The petitioner is one such purchaser. The petitioner presented the sale deed dated 09.07.2025 for registration before the 5^th respondent. However, the 5^th respondent refused to register the sale deed, keeping it as a pending document in Doc.No.P/70 of 2025 and insisted the petitioner to produce a NOC from the 3^rd respondent. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition before this Court.

4. Heard both sides and perused the materials available on record.

5. Learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioner submits that the issue involved in this writ petition is no longer res integra and the similar issue has already been decided by the Division Bench of this Court in W.P.No.30589 of 2013, etc. batch on 05.04.2017.

6. The Division Bench of this Court has allowed the aforesaid writ petitions and in paragraph No.25, the Division Bench has passed the following orders:-

“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.