Registration and issues- times of india-15-4-2016- a times report
Bengaluru: Planning to buy a piece of property? Do it at your own peril. For, the stamps and registration department has said it is not responsible for fraudulent dual registrations. It means the onus is on the buyer and the seller to ascertain whether the sale in question is legitimate or not. Quoting an 1882 law, inspector general of registration (IGR) NV Prasad has said they have no power to stop any fraudulent registration of properties in the state. “The registering officer is not empowered to stop or refuse such multiple registrations and as per existing and applicable provisions of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 only the parties concerned are liable/ responsible to stop such multiple registrations/ transactions,” he said in his March 31 reply to a notice issued by the Committee on Judicial Accountability under section 80 of Civil Procedure Code (CPC). The committee sought to know if the state government intends to curb the anywhere registration policy, which has allegedly led to increase in multiple registrations of properties. Prasad, quoting Sections 47 and 48 of the Registration Act, 1908, said the department cannot interfere in the process of registration as the laws describe property registration and execution as being already pre-determined with priority and precedence of sale deeds of any property. In simple terms, unless a sale deed is cancelled with a deed, subsequent sale deeds are null and void, so the registration department’s intervention is not warranted. The IGR’s response has created confusion. Social activist Ganesh Koundinya, member of the committee, said: “The response does not address any of the questions we raised. The response seems to be one which the government intends to exercise to absolve itself of any wrongdoing. How can a registration authority deny knowledge of a previous registration on the same property?” The law department has already given an adverse opinion on the stamps and registration department’s proposal to extend the anywhere registration system across the state, citing the proposal is in violation of the central government’s Registration Act of 1908. As of now, the anywhere registration system is restricted to the district registrar offices (DRO), where people can register properties located anywhere within the registration district. There are five DROs in the city: Jayanagar, Shivajinagar, Basavanagudi, Gandhinagar, Rajajinagar. G