Fragmentation, red zone classification of land no grounds to refuse registration of sale deed: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that a registering authority cannot refuse to register land sale deeds on the ground that the land is a “fragment”, that non‑agricultural (NA) permission has not been produced or that the plots are in a ‘red zone’ around a defence establishment requiring an NOC. [Siddharth Goel v. Sub-Registrar-II & Ors.].A Bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande said these considerations fall outside the limited scope of an enquiry under the Registration Act, 1908..The petitions arose from orders by the sub-registrar refusing to register sale deeds executed on December 30, 2020 in respect of land falling within the ‘red zone’ of the Dehu Road Ammunition Depot in Pune which was treated as a “fragment” under the Maharashtra Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1947.The registering authorities had insisted on a no objection certificate (NOC) under the Fragmentation Act, proof of a sanctioned layout and NA permission as well as an NOC from the defence authorities on account of the red zone classification. This refusal was affirmed by the District Registrar in revision, prompting the petitions before the High Court..The High Court observed that Maharashtra Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1947, the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 and the Indian Works of Defence Act, 1903 operate in fields distinct from the Registration Act. “Provisions of one enactment cannot be read into another enactment unless it is so expressly provided in the Act itself,” the Court observed. .The Bench referred to its earlier decision in Govind Ramling Solpure v. State of Maharashtra, where it read down Rule 44(1)(i) of the Maharashtra Registration Rules, 1961. It reiterated that a registering officer must confine his enquiry to the due execution of the document, the identity of the executants and the authority of any representative, agent, or assign along with proper stamp and registration fee. .The Court termed the orders of the registering authorities “unsustainable”, set them aside and directed that the sale deeds be registered..Advocates Rachana Harpale and Nitin P Deshpande appeared for the petitioners. Additional government pleaders MM Pabale and SP Kamble appeared for the State registering authorities. [Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.