Official guidance, Tamil Nadu land law
Circular, Letter No.41530/U1/2017 dated 31.7.2018
The Office of the Inspector General of Registration issued Letter No.41530/U1/2017 on 31 July 2018, directing District Registrars and Registering Officers on index entries, document notes, further registrations and appeals when registration fraud is proved. Circular No.67 dated 3 November 2011, which had allowed annulment of fraudulent registrations, was withdrawn with effect from 20 October 2017, so the 2018 circular provides a different administrative response without cancelling the registration.
Purpose and background
The Office of the Inspector General of Registration issued Letter No.41530/U1/2017 on 31 July 2018 after Circular No.67 dated 3 November 2011 was withdrawn with effect from 20 October 2017. The withdrawn circular had prescribed annulment of registrations proved to involve impersonation or false or fake documents. District Registrars must instead conduct enquiries into fraudulent registration complaints under Section 68(2) of the Registration Act, 1908, following the procedure prescribed by the Inspector General of Registration under Section 69.
Action when fraud is proved
Letter No.41530/U1/2017 dated 31 July 2018 requires the following action after a District Registrar finds that a registration is fraudulent:
- The Registering Officer must be directed to file a police complaint against the fraudsters.
- The District Registrar must direct an entry in the relevant index stating that the registration was found fraudulent, identifying the District Registrar proceedings and briefly recording the findings.
- The same note must be added as a footnote to the relevant filed document copy and signed by the Registering Officer.
- For a scanned document, the signed note must be placed on separate white paper and linked to the main document.
- No later document may be registered based on the document declared fraudulent.
- The genuine property owner must be allowed to proceed with further registration despite the fraudulent registration concerning the property.
These steps address the problem of a fraudulent document continuing to appear as a genuine registration in the Encumbrance Certificate and obstructing the genuine owner.
Orders and appeals
District Registrars must issue reasoned proceedings on complaints and communicate them to the petitioner. Every order must state that the concerned parties may appeal to the Inspector General of Registration, 100, Santhome High Road, Chennai 28, within 60 days from receiving the order.
For orders already passed, the affected parties must receive a separate letter informing them that an appeal may be filed within 60 days from receipt of that letter.
Compliance checks
The Deputy Inspector General of Registration and the District Registrar must check during visits to Sub Registrar offices whether the required entries were properly made. District Registrars must also send a detailed action taken report to the Inspector General of Registration.
This summary is generated from the source document to help you find what is relevant. The PDF above is authoritative. For advice on your own property, use LandLens One or speak to a qualified professional.
Common questions
Will a fraudulent registered document be cancelled under this circular?
No cancellation procedure is prescribed here. Circular No.67 dated 3 November 2011, which provided for annulment, was withdrawn, and the new instructions require fraud findings to be noted in the indexes and document copies.
Can the genuine owner register another document after fraud is proved?
Yes. The District Registrar must direct that the genuine owner be allowed to proceed with further registration despite the fraudulent registration concerning the property.
Can someone register another document using the fraudulent document?
No. The District Registrar must direct Registering Officers not to register documents based on a document declared fraudulent.
How can an affected party appeal a District Registrar order?
An appeal may be made to the Inspector General of Registration, 100, Santhome High Road, Chennai 28, within 60 days from receipt of the order. For an order already passed, the period runs from receipt of the separate appeal information letter.
