HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE P NAVEEN RAO WRIT PETITION NO.12578 OF 2014 Date: 25.07.2014 Between :
Smt. Doddapaneni Basavapurna, W/o. Venkateswara Rao, Aged 70 years, Occu: Housewife, r/o.D.No.5-23-26, Ithanagar, Tenali Town, Guntur district and two others.
….. Petitioners And The Government of Andhra Pradesh, rep.by its Principal Secretary, Department of Revenue (Stamps & Registration), Secretariat Buildings, Hyderabad and another ….. Respondents This Court made the following :
HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE P NAVEEN RAO WRIT PETITION NO.12578 OF 2014 ORDER:
The grievance of the petitioners is that they are the absolute owners and possessors of the property to an extent of Ac.0.32½ cents out of Ac.2.28 cents in D.No.159 of Budampadu Village Panchayat, Guntur Sub-Division, Guntur District. Petitioners entered into an agreement to sell the said property with the prospective buyer. When the petitioners presented the deed of conveyance before the Sub- Registrar-II, Tenali (2nd respondent), on 17.4.2014, the 2nd respondent refused to receive the documents. No reasons are assigned by the Sub-Registrar for such refusal. Hence, this writ petition.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that Sub-Registrar cannot refuse to receive the deed of conveyance. He has no such power or competence at the threshold. He has to receive the deed of conveyance in accordance with the Indian Registration Act, 1908 and Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and if the Sub-Registrar has valid reasons for refusing to register the document, he shall pass orders duly assigning reasons under Section 71 of the Registration Act and communicate the same to the petitioners and this refusal to receive the document itself is illegal. The averment made in the counter affidavit only discloses that petitioners approached the Joint Sub-Registrar-II, Tenali, for registration of sale deed and it does not disclose that deed of conveyance was presented. Therefore, liberty is given to the petitioners to present deed of conveyance before the Sub-Registrar-II, Tenali, (2nd respondent). As and when such deed of conveyance is presented by the petitioners, the 2nd respondent shall receive and process the same in accordance with the Indian Registration Act, 1908 and Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and if the Sub-Registrar has a reason to refuse the document for registration, he shall pass orders under Section 71 of the Act by assigning reasons and communicate the same to the parties. The said process shall be undertaken within three weeks from the date of presentation of the document by the petitioners.
3. Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs. Miscellaneous petitions if any pending in this writ petition shall stand closed.
JUSTICE P.NAVEEN RAO Date: 25.07.2014 Kkm HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE P NAVEEN RAO WRIT PETITION NO.12578 OF 2014 Date: 25.07.2014 kkm