BENGALURU: For the effective implementation of decrees cancelling registered documents of immovable properties, the Karnataka High Court issued a series of guidelines to the civil courts and to sub-registrars.
Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum passed the order, allowing the petition filed by Antony Samy K from the city, who approached the court as the Sub Registrar of Mahadevapura refused to give effect to the decree passed in his case. In order to avoid recurrence of such situations, the court issued guidelines to the civil courts.
According to the order, in suits where a registered document is declared void, cancelled, or terminated relating to immovable properties, all civil courts and the commercial courts in the state shall direct the office to transmit a copy of the decree to the jurisdictional sub-registrar in whose office the document was registered.
The communication shall ordinarily be sent within four weeks from the date of the decree. The communication shall clearly mention the document number, the date of registration, the book and volume, and the nature of document cancelled.
Guidelines for sub-registrars
Whenever a decree cancelling a registered document is communicated by a civil court, the sub-registrar shall make the required entries in the relevant register and indexes within four weeks of receipt of such communication.
Even in cases where no formal communication is received from the court, if a party produces a certified copy of the judgment and decree declaring the registered instrument is cancelled or void, the sub-registrar shall not refuse to act upon the decree. In such cases, the sub-registrar shall verify the authenticity of the certified copy, and thereafter record the cancellation in the relevant registers and indexes in accordance with Rule 123, Rules, 1965.
The registering authority shall not insist upon separate orders of the High Court or any other authority once a competent civil court has declared the document to be void or cancelled.