Executive Authorities Lack Jurisdiction to Cancel Registered Sale Deeds; Only Civil Courts Possess Such Power

The petitioners challenged an order dated 12.01.2021 passed by the Deputy Commissioner, Seraikella-Kharsawan in Misc. Case No. 17/2020-21

One Alimuddin Khan, holding a General Power of Attorney for land in Mauza Tamulia, transferred portions of the property to Respondent Nos. 7 and 8 in 2012 via registered deeds

Subsequently, in 2020, Alimuddin Khan transferred the same land to Petitioner No. 1 via Registered Deed No. 640

Aggrieved by this second transfer, the private respondents moved the Deputy Commissioner, who subsequently annulled Petitioner No. 1’s registered sale deed on grounds of fraud/forgery and ordered the registration of an FIR

1. Whether a Deputy Commissioner, acting as an executive officer, possesses the legal jurisdiction to annul or cancel a registered sale deed

2. Whether the power to cancel a registered instrument on grounds of fraud or forgery vests in the registering authority or the Civil Court

The Registration Act, 1908, contains no express provision empowering a Registering Authority or executive officer to recall or cancel a registration once the document is registered

The role of the Registrar is discharged once registration is complete and that cancellation is a substantive matter requiring express statutory authority

Executive circulars (under Article 162) cannot override statutory provisions to grant registrars the power of annulment; such power resides solely with a competent Civil Court under the Specific Relief Act

The court reasoned that the Deputy Commissioner, as an executive officer, acted entirely without jurisdiction

It observed that while the Deputy Commissioner labeled the deed "forged," the Registration Act does not permit an executive authority to reopen such findings after registration

The court underscored that once a deed is registered, the Registrar becomes functus officio regarding its validity

Referring to the Vinod Shankar Jha case, the court noted that even if the state issued circulars attempting to vest such powers in executive officers, such circulars are legally unsustainable as they infringe upon the domain of the Civil Courts, which are the only forums authorized to declare a registered deed null and void under Section 31 (for parties) or Section 34 (for strangers) of the Specific Relief Act

The High Court set aside the impugned order dated 12.01.2021 passed in Misc. Case No. 17/2020-21, effectively restoring the status of the registered sale deed in favor of Petitioner No. 1. The writ petition was allowed, and the court clarified that any party aggrieved by the registration must seek their remedy before a competent Civil Court