T.N. government introduces Bill making original documents necessary for immovable property registration

T.N. government introduces Bill making original documents necessary for immovable property registration

Within a month of the Supreme Court’s judgment striking down Rule 55-A of the Tamil Nadu Registration Rules, 1949, the State government tabled a Bill in the Assembly on Monday (April 28, 2025) that seeks to make the registration of immovable properties possible only with the production of original documents, along with the encumbrance certificate, among other requirements.

On April 7 this year, the Supreme Court, in its judgment, held that the rule-making power under Section 69 cannot be exercised to make a rule that was inconsistent with the provisions of the Registration Act, 1908. The apex court had also declared Rule 55-A (i) of the Tamil Nadu Registration Rules, 1949, ultra vires.

The Bill, tabled by Tamil Nadu Registration Minister P. Moorthy in the House, said: “In the said circumstances, in order to achieve the object behind the said rule 55-A by giving legal sanctity thereto and thereby to protect the interests of the public, who may be affected by fraud, forgery, and impersonation in the registration of documents, the government has decided to incorporate suitable provisions in the Registration Act, 1908.”

The Bill seeks to include a fresh section, ‘34-C - Production of original documents’. This section states that the registering officer would register immovable properties on production of the “previous original document by which the right over the subject property was acquired by him along with the encumbrance certificate pertaining to the subject property” by the executant.

If the previous original document was lost, the registering officer would not register such document “unless non-traceable certificate issued by the police department along with the advertisement published in the local newspaper giving the notice of loss of the previous original document are produced.” In case of an encumbrance showing that the property is mortgaged, registration would be permitted upon production of a ‘No Objection Certificate’ from the mortgagee, the Bill stated.

If the property was ancestral and the previous original document was not available, the registering officer would not register the document, unless the patta issued by the Revenue Department was produced. The Bill is expected to be taken up for consideration on Tuesday (April 29, 2025).