Sub-Registrar can’t refuse to accept documents: HC

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the UT Sub-Registrar to accept a conveyance deed submitted by a resident and take a final decision on its registration in accordance with the law. The court’s intervention came after the petitioner-resident submitted that the online registration portal was non-functional and the Sub-Registrar was refusing to accept offline documents.

The urgency of the matter was underscored by the fact that the collector rates were set to increase threefold from April 1.

The court categorically held that the Sub-Registrar did not have the power to deny the acceptance of documents and must either register them or reject them through a speaking order. Disposing of the writ petition, Justice Kuldeep Tiwari asserted: “The Sub-Registrar does not vest with any power to deny the acceptance of documents submitted before it. However, under the Act, he is duty-bound either to register the document or decline it by passing a speaking order. He cannot simply refuse to accept the documents.”

The petitioner sought a direction to the Sub-Registrar, Chandigarh Administration, to accept the conveyance deed either through the online portal or in the offline mode. The petitioner’s counsel, Vikas Chatrath, told the court that all prerequisites for registration were completed, including obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for registration of the conveyance deed from the society concerned on March 21. The stamp duty papers were purchased on March 24.

“However, the online portal for registration of the conveyance deed is not working and the Sub-Registrar, Chandigarh Administration, is not accepting the documents offline. Today is the last working day of the current financial year and from April 1, the collector rates would be revised and the petitioner burdened with the enhanced collector rates, which approximately is three times the existing collector rates,” he added.