M MANJULA Vs. GAJAM CHANDRIAH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE defendants in O.S.No.65 of 2007 on the file of the learned Senior Civil Judge at Siddipet filed this Civil Revision Petition aggrieved by the order dated 15.12.2010 passed by the said Court holding the documents sought to be marked by them in evidence inadmissible. Parties shall be referred to as arrayed before the Court below.

(2.) THE suit, O.S.No.65 of 2007, was filed by the plaintiffs seeking declaration of title and perpetual injunction in respect of the suit schedule property. THE defendants wanted to mark in evidence the unregistered sale deeds dated 25.02.1996 and 28.08.1996, said to have been executed by Gajam Chandraiah, the deceased first plaintiff. THE Court below disallowed the same by the order under revision, holding that the said documents compulsorily required registration under Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908 (for brevity, Act of 1908) and as they were not so registered, they were inadmissible in evidence.

(3.) THE provision speaks only of compulsory registration of documents of conveyance for consideration executed after the commencement of Act 48 of 2001 for the purpose of Section 53-A of the Act of 1882. By necessary implication, such documents, if executed prior to such commencement even if unregistered, would still be covered by Section 53-A of the Act of 1882 as it stood prior to the amendment effected under Act of 48 of 2001. THErefore, the subject documents, being unregistered sale deeds of the year 1996, would fall within the ambit of the protection afforded by the aforestated Section and they would continue to be governed by the unamended Section 53-A of the Act of 1882. It would thus be open to the defendants in the suit to claim part performance of the unregistered sale deeds under Section 53-A of the Act of 1882 as a defence.