Altered sale deed post registration remains valid : SC
Title: KANWAR RAJ SINGH (D) TH. LRS. V GEJO. (D) TH.LRS & ORS.
Citation: CIVIL APPEAL NO. 9098 OF 2013
Dated on: 2.1.2024
Corum: HON’BLE JUSTICE ABHAY S. OKA, J.
Facts of the case
In this present case before the Supreme Court of India is concerned with a sale deed of appalent Mr. Kanwar Raj Singh who had completed execution of sale deed in 1975 for a plot of property comprising 71 kanals and 8 marlas, in Favor of Smt. Gejo. The the appellants Mr. Singh, disputed the legitimacy of the selling document. Their main argument was that the seller had changed the sale document before it was registered in order to only represent and record a third of the entire acreage being sold. The issue of contention was that the sale deed had allegedly been altered or tampered with before it was formally registered. The appellants argued that the registration document was not a true representation of the actual transaction between Smt. Gejo and Kanwar Raj Singh. They contend that the sale deed was falsified to represent a smaller portion of the land being transferred or more precisely, only one-third of the entire area. The appellant Mr. Singh dissatisfied with sale deed alteration appealed to the Supreme Court of India seeking the annulment or rejection of the document.
Legal provision
In this present case Section 47 of The Registration Act, 1908 states that registered document shall operate from the time from which it would have commenced to operate if no registration thereof was required or made, and not from the time of its registration1. This means that a registered document can have a retrospective effect from the date of its execution, depending on the nature of the transaction but The Constitution Bench held that Section 47 of the Registration Act does not deal with the issue when the sale is complete and as in this present case the sale deed was already completed
Court analysis and Judgement
In this present case the Supreme Court, after reviewing the facts and legal arguments presented, ultimately dismissed the appeal. This implies that the court found no merit in the appellants’ contentions and concluded that, despite the alleged alterations, the sale deed was valid and enforceable as it stood after registration. The decision of the Supreme Court upheld the legitimacy of the sale deed executed in 1975 between Kanwar Raj Singh and Smt. Gejo, and by dismissing the appeal, the court signalled that it did not find sufficient grounds to challenge the validity of the document based on the alleged alterations.
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Written by- Namitha Ramesh