G NARASAIAH Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE controversy owes its origin to a communication of the Revenue Divisional Officer, Jangaon bearing Rc.No. 1/123/2005, dated 26-05-2007 which may be noticed;

(2.) THE above said communication unveils a restraint, placed by the Revenue Divisional Officer Jangaon on the Sub Registrar, preventing him from entertaining the "Sale deed" for registration, executed by the writ petitioner (appellant herein), in respect of Survey No. 538, situate at Palakurthy Village and Mandal, Warangal District, until disposal of the dispute of title by the civil court and SC and ST Commission (for short Commission) and unless directed by the Commission. In response to the communication of the Revenue Divisional Officer Jangaon, the Sub Registrar wrote a letter to the writ petitioner as follows;

(3.) TO answer the question, the fall out of the refusal to entertain the document, needs to be understood in its right perspective which in essence, prevents the writ petitioner - appellant from presenting the document for registration, obviously it amounts to refusal to register the document but without its scrutiny in terms of the provisions of the Act and the Rules made there under. Is such power available to the Sub Registrar, the judgment of the learned single judge, impugned before us, does not suggest anything which could persuade us, to concede such power to the Sub-Registrar, thus it has become imperative upon us, to examine the Registration Act, 1908 (Act hereinafter) comprehensively, to find out the provision if any therein, which would empower the Sub Registrar, to refuse to entertain a document, for registration on the direction of a functionary of the State but we find none. Amazingly the Sub Registrar has acted under the directions of the Revenue Divisional Officer, least appreciating that the Revenue Divisional Officer is a stranger to the scheme of the Act / Rules who has no control over the Sub Registrar and has no power to give a direction to him not to entertain the document. The direction of the Revenue Divisional Officer is ex facie contrary to the provisions of the Act so is refusal to entertain the document, hence without jurisdiction. We rule so because the Sub Registrar is the statutory authority who is required to act in accordance with the mandate of the Act and not under the directions of an unauthorized authority. That being the legal position, the Sub- Registrar has no power to refuse to entertain a document for registration on the direction of some one. The question is accordingly answered in the negative.