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S.R.Venkatraman (Sales Executive)     28 July 2014

H.c upholds circular permitting registr to cancel land deeds

The Times of India, Chennai dtd. 28/07/2014 article "High Court upholds circular permitting registrar to cancel land deeds"  - Justice T. Raja should be commended for his open minded assessment of the problems of land grabbing and bogus registrations that are now a routine happening in a city like Chennai.

This judgement is Godsend for the lacs of aggrieved land owners who have been suffering untold mental agony due to their lands being usurped by the land sharks.Chennai has been witnessing alarming increase of land grabbing and incidents of bogus document registrations due to irresponsible acts of the officials and personnel mainly at the taluka offices and registration departments - for long, the higher officials such as the sub-registrars/district registrars/tehsildar and R.D.O have been turning a blind eye to this grave injustice to the genuine land owners  due to the lack of  strong laws to fix accountability on them. It is well known that bribery is prevalent at the revenue and registration departments.

Moreover, the spurt in land prices has witnessed large scale incidents involving the land sharks, brokers, promoters and others including those affiliated to political parties, who put pressure on the revenue and registration department personnel and indulge in fraudulent registration of documents and double registrations, knowing well that it will take the hapless land owner several years to get justice from courts, in many cases the land owners are forced to give away their properties at peanut prices to escape the long drawn court battles involving huge legal fees. Even thereafter, the land owners are not sure of  getting back their lands.

The registration department is the main culprit in this misdeed - in the absence of proper law fixing accountability on the part of sub-registrars/district registrars and other higher authorities,  the documents are registered without proper verifications, bypassing the laid down registration rules and guidelines.

Title deeds/pattas are not properly verified and in several cases the sale deed has been registered without even a valid title deed or a patta. On interactions with the Inspector General of Registration/Distt. Registrar and other officials, I came to understand that several thousands of petitions from aggrieved land owners are pending before them for cancellation due to the 'Stay' obtained by some people at the Madras High Court.

The High Court judgement, therefore, comes as a great relief for all the aggrieved land owners and rests back the responsibility of cancelling the bogus registrations with the sub-registrars and district registrars.
 Punishment clauses should also be imposed on erring officials to the extent of removing them permanently from the service along with adequate compensation to the aggrieved person, because it involves lands of genuine owners valued at several lacs and crores - therefore the erring officials should not go scotfree with just a demotion to another less important department or transfer to some other registrar/taluka office.

Watchdogs should be appointed to  monitor the performance of these people - The Supreme Court has recommended these measures long back and has specifically mentioned in its direction that " innocent land owners should not be made to run for justice after they have  been humiliated by the acts of a few people at the taluka and registration offices".

Successive governments in Tamilnadu have shown little concern for this Supreme Court direction in connection with registration of land documents over the years. This is a step forward, though belated, for the Government of Tamilnadu to have taken in the larger interest of genuine land owners and also control the incidences of land grabbing and bogus document registrations.

Also, the officials should be made to act expeditiously in the cancellation of registrations made with bogus and irrelevant documents and more importantly make it mandatory for the submission of a valid, registered title deed and a patta.

Now that the Madras High Court has cleared the way, the concerned officials must act on the huge petitions pending disposal. It is also hoped that the government will usher in more laws to make the personnel at taluka offices and registration departments accountable for their acts. It will a good initiative to link both Revenue and Registration departments to enable them easily access the information of a land such as ownership, patta details, survey number etc., which will help them perform more efficiently.

 

 

 




Learning

 11 Replies

K Bala (MD)     26 August 2014

In my case a land sale deed was registered in Vellore District with my wife's forged signatures, while she was still living abroad. When I filed a complaint with the District Registrar and the IG Registration, they dragged it on and on sending the summons to the wrong address given in the sale deed which came from the bogus ID. One of the culprit went and registered another sale deed in order to cover up forgery. Subsequently the acting DIG Registration in Vellore passes an order stating that, since a NRI did not show up for the hearing, he was unable to ascertain forgery in the sale deed, also the culprits gave a wrtitten testimony that they bought/sold the land with their own signature in 2004.

Then the question came up as to how the same land can be sold/bought again in 2012, when they have given written testimony that they bought/sold the land in 2004 (except my wife). The second sale deed from 2012 states a sale of 1/3rd of the same property being sold to the same buyers from 2004. How land can be sold/bought twice? How more land than what physically exists can be sold through Registered sale deeds? So apparently the culprits sold one part of the land in 2004 and then again a third more in 2012. Apparently for whatsoever reasons and some very obvious reasons of bribery in the Registration Department, DIG Registration just does not want to annul the sale deeds. Another moron ask me if I agree that the vendor who sold the land has a one third share in the property in 2012. This is beyond anyones comprehension, how one would still have a right to sell a land when she sold the land eight years ago in 2004 according to her own testimony in 2012, but she had registered another sale deed in 2012. Must be morons galore in the Tamilnadu Registration Department or it must be one unchecked lawless land!

Doesn't the Registration act require that when a land is sold, it should specify the coordinates and boundaries? Check the attachment. Also it is so hilarious that when the whole land was sold in 2004 for 12 lakhs, how a third can be sold in 2012 eight years later for a mere cash consideration of Rs 1 lakh. Land must be growing in Tamilnadu and depreciating as well at the same time and you can sell/buy the same land multiple of times as you please "as long as you pay the stamp duty" was the answer given by the Commercial taxes and Registration Department's deputy Secretary in Fort St. George.


Attached File : 296918994 4519 of 2013.pdf downloaded: 465 times

Raja (None)     27 September 2014

Hi ,

We approached the Madras High Court for a certified copy of the order and we were told that the order was given in madurai so the certified copy cannot be provided in chennai

 

Can someone please help on how to get the certified copy of this judgement? i.e. High court of madras upholding the right to cancel fake sale deeds by the registration department

Raja (None)     08 October 2014

Hi, When we enquired about why the Registration department of Tamil Nadu is not cancelling the fradulent registrations we got a reply saying that " the order was passed in madurai and in Chennai even now some 10-20 cases are pending on stay order" and that the Inspector General of registration has sent a circular number 6  telling that the Registrars need to complete the enquiry into fraud and have a report ready on that, beyond that they  need to wait for further orders"........ Can someone validate if this is true also send a copy of this circular number 6?

Raja (None)     13 April 2015

Learned Sirs, is there a stay on this circular?  can anyone validate?

S.R.Venkatraman (Sales Executive)     28 July 2015

An Article carried in 'The Hindu' dtd.12/09/2014(Madurai Edition) says "High Court Refuses to stay the circular" - connected with Circular 67 issued by the Inspector General-Registration.This judgment was delivered in an appeal filed by one M. Ramanathan, Karaikudi V/s The Inspector General Registration - Madurai Bench of Madras High Court. - This earlier judgement dtd.17/07/2014 was delivered by a single judge Mr. T. Raja, Madras High Court, Madras Bench vacating the stay on cancellation of fraudulent documents - This order is valid for both Madurai Bench as well as Madras Bench of Madras High Court.The reason cited for refusal of the H.C to stay the circular is because land grabbing/impersonation/ bogus documents are increasing due to the activities of brokers(advocates included) affecting several lacs of bonafide land owners and threatening their rightful ownership. More importantly the majority of affected persons were elderly people and widows.

S.R.Venkatraman (Sales Executive)     28 July 2015

I, as an interested person on the developments, will be grateful if anybody in this forum can help me with the final judgement copy upholding legal validity of circular 67 in connection with the appeal filed by one Mr. M. Ramanathan of Karaikudi in Tamilnadu V/s The Inspector General Registration (Madurai Bench of Madras High Court) to stay the implementation of circular 67 - This appeal was filed in Madurai bench of Madras High Court against the single judge (Mr.T. Raja) order dtd.17/07/2014 judgement vacating the stay on Circular 67 issued by the Inspector General Registration - Santhome, Chennai. I would also like to the whether the District Registrar is acting on the Madras High Court order in the cancellation of fraudulent registration ?

Raja (None)     31 July 2015

Sirs,

The officers in registrar office are not doing any work regarding cancellations. They stopped cancellation work quoting the Stay given by Madurai bench when the bench vacated the stay now they are still quoting that there is a stay in some other court. I am thoroughly furstrated. 

I hope someone can provide the latest status.

Even when we send RTI letters the reply given by them is evasive and childish.

Regards,

 

S.R.Venkatraman (Sales Executive)     08 October 2015

On a recent visit to the Registration Department at Santhome, when I inquired into the present status on the vacation of stay on Inspector General - Registration on circular 67 regarding cancellation of fradulent registrations, I was informed that although, theoretically, the order was passed vacating the stay, no official word or order has been issued by the office of the inspector general -registration, santhome to put this into effect thus far. It is very rediculous how the government mechanism functions.

 Even the appeal filed against vacation of stay on Circular 67 as mentioned in earlier posting has been dismissed by the Madras High Court.So, the path is very clear for the Inspector General Registration to act on Circular 67 and dispose all the pending fies of aggrieved land owners without further delay - therefore, it is very difficult to understand why the delay without any concideration of the pain such things add to the aggrieved land owners.

It is disheartening that even the noblest souls in the legal fraternity are not coming together to help the affected people and enforce speedy implementation of the court order.

al.narayanan   08 August 2016

Sir.just two days before I got letter from IG REGISTRATION . saying that circular 67 has a stay in high court.I don't know why this IG REGISTRATION. U section people are just escaping by saying there is a stay.as they are trying to safe guard their coworker in the department. The madurai branch has given a clear order to enquire the froudental registration with in a time frame given by the court.how approach this matter.

al.narayanan   08 August 2016

The IG REGISTRATION department are the slowest reply machine .where the reply for my letter had taken one month to say that there is a stay in the court

Sridharan Tirupati   28 September 2016

Curcular No. 67 issued by the Inspector General of Registration is not dead. This circular empowers district registrars to investigate and annul fraudulent sale/transfer deeds and registrations. I found that in March 2016, a writ petition was heard in the high court related to this. The petitioner complained about inaction from the registrar (South Chennai, Pallavaram) on a land grabbing situation on which the registrar was not acting. The court directed the registrar to investigate and issue appropriate orders within 12 weeks. The basis of this court directive was circular No. 67. Case link: 

https://indiankanoon.org/doc/78640761/

Those who are facing inaction from the registrar's office can take this approach of filing a writ petition. The petition is not a case to decide the title dispute in court but to make the registrar act using powers bestowed under Circular No. 67.


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