Circular No. 25600/C1/2018, Prevention of Fraudulent Document Registration, 7 June 2018

What the circular governs

Circular No. 25600/C1/2018 dated 7 June 2018 was issued by the Head of the Tamil Nadu Registration Department. It sets out how registration officers must examine and record prior documents used to establish a person's rights over immovable property before accepting a document for registration.

The guidance applies to documents involving sale, transfer of rights, gift, settlement, mortgage and grant of general power of attorney.

Who is affected

Circular No. 25600/C1/2018 affects property owners and document presenters who rely on earlier registered documents, patta or other revenue records to establish ownership. It also directs Sub Registrars, District Registrars and Deputy Heads of the Registration Department on verification, scanning, return and audit procedures.

Key requirements

Registration officers must:

• Obtain and examine the original prior registered document that supports the present document holder's rights.
• Check relevant ownership information, patta and property boundaries against the survey number and subdivision details in the applicable registers.
• Write “Verified” by hand on the left margin of the first page of the original prior document, add the date and sign below it.
• Scan the marked page only as a Reference Document. The software is designed so that this page does not appear in a later certified copy.
• Use the reverse of the first page if repeated use of the same prior document, such as for plots or flats, leaves no space on the front.
• Mark and scan every relevant prior document where one instrument contains several properties derived through different prior documents.

Only the immediately relevant original prior document needs the verification mark. An older document in the ownership chain need not be marked merely because it is also produced.

Missing and ancestral property records

If an original prior document is missing, the presenter must provide a certified copy, a copy of the police complaint acknowledgement and a copy of the newspaper advertisement. A Non Traceable Certificate, if issued, must also be scanned with the other evidence as Reference Documents.

For ancestral property, records such as patta and house tax receipts must be attached and scanned as part of the Main Document. No separate Reference Document scan is required for those records.

Return and audit

Registration officers must acknowledge receipt of original prior documents on the fee receipt by recording the document number. After scanning, the prior documents must be returned to the person entitled to receive the original registered document. District Registrars responsible for audit must check compliance and separately note failures.