Madras High Court
Muthupandian vs The District Registrar on 23 December, 2022
1 W.P.(MD)NO.21895 OF 2021
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED: 23.12.2022
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE G.R.SWAMINATHAN
W.P.(MD)No.21895 of 2021
Muthupandian ... Petitioner
Vs.
1. The District Registrar,
O/o.The District Registrar Office,
Tenkasi, Tenkasi District.
2. The Sub Registrar,
Sub Registrar Office,
Melaneelithanallur,
Sankarankovil Taluk,
Tenkasi District.
3. V.Pown Pandian
4. M.Mahalakshmi
(R-3 & R-4 are impleaded vide order dated 24.01.2022
in W.M.P.(MD)No.19600 of 2021) ... Respondents
Prayer: Writ petition is filed under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India, to issue a Writ of Certiorarified
Mandamus, to call for the records of the 1st respondent's reply
dated 27.10.2021 in Na.Ka.No.6998/AA/2021 relating to the
unilateral cancellation of the settlement deed dated
03.10.2012 registered as Document No.2314/2012 in the 2nd
respondent and to quash the same as illegal and consequently
direct the 2nd respondent to delete the entries of the
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2 W.P.(MD)NO.21895 OF 2021
cancellation of Settlement deed dated 03.10.2012 registered
as Document No.2314/2012 in the 2nd Respondent.
For Petitioner : Mr.V.Muthuvelan
For R-1 & R-2 : Mr.N.Sathees Kumar,
Additional Government Pleader.
For R-3 & R-4 : No appearance.
***
ORDER
Heard the learned counsel appearing for the writ
petitioner and the learned Additional Government Pleader
appearing for the official respondents.
2. Though the fourth respondent has been served and
her name is also entered in the cause list, she has not chosen
to enter appearance. Notice sent to the third respondent was
returned as “unclaimed.
3. The petitioner's father Thiru.Veliyappathevar
executed a settlement deed dated 26.08.2002 in favour of the
writ petitioner. It was registered as document No.2186 of
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3 W.P.(MD)NO.21895 OF 2021
2002 on the file of the second respondent. Ten years later, the
said deed was unilaterally cancelled vide document No.2314
of 2012 dated 01.10.2012. The petitioner came to know about
the same only recently. Thereafter, the present writ petition
has been filed.
4. The petitioner's father passed away in the
meanwhile. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner
categorically asserts that till date the property has not
changed hands. The said submission made by the petitioner
through his counsel is placed on record.
5. It is beyond dispute that the issue raised in this
writ petition is no longer res integra. The Hon'ble Full Bench
of this Court in the decision reported in 2022 (5) CTC 257
( Sasikala V. Revenue Divisional Officer-cum-Sub
Collector) has held as follows:-
“ 40.Hence, we have no hesitation to
answer the issue by holding that the
Sub-Registrar namely, the Registering
Authority has no power to accept the Deed of
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4 W.P.(MD)NO.21895 OF 2021
Cancellation to nullify the Deed of Conveyance
made earlier.
41.Regarding Gift or Settlement: With
regard to unilateral cancellation of gift deed,
which is not revokable and does not come
under the purview of Section 126 of the
Transfer of Property Act, the Registrar has no
power to accept the Deed of Cancellation to
nullify the registered Settlement Deed.
Section 126 of the Transfer of Property Act,
reads as follows:
“126. When Gift may be suspended or
revoked.—The Donor and Donee may agree
that on the happening of any specified
event which does not depend on the will of
the Donor a Gift shall be suspended or
revoked; but a Gift which the parties agree
shall be revocable wholly or in part, at the
mere will of the Donor, is void wholly or in
part, as the case may be. A Gift may also be
revoked in any of the cases (save want or
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5 W.P.(MD)NO.21895 OF 2021
failure of consideration) in which, if it were
a contract, it might be rescinded. Save as
aforesaid, a Gift cannot be revoked.
Nothing contained in this section shall be
deemed to affect the rights of Transferees
for consideration without notice.”
42.Section 126 of the Transfer of
Property Act recognizes the power of
revocation where the Donor reserves a right
to suspend or revoke the Gift on happening of
any specified event. However, the illustrations
clarifies that the revocation should be with the
assent of the Donee and it shall not be at the
will of Donor as a Gift revocable at the mere
Will of the donor is void. The Sub Registrar
cannot decide whether there was consent for
revocation outside the document. If the Donor
by himself reserves a right to revoke the Gift
at his Will without the assent by Donee, the
Gift itself is void. Since we are dealing with
unilateral cancellation, the power of
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6 W.P.(MD)NO.21895 OF 2021
registration of cancellation or revocation of
Gift Deed cannot be left to the discretion or
wisdom of Registering Authority on facts
which are not available or discernible from the
Deed of Gift. When the power of revocation is
reserved under the document, it is permissible
to the Registering Officer to accept the
document revoking the Gift for registration
only in cases where the following conditions
are satisfied;
(a)There must be an Agreement
between the Donor and Donee that on the
happening of a specified event which does not
depend on the Will of the Donor the Gift shall
be suspended or revoked by the donor.
(b) Such Agreement shall be mutual
and expressive and seen from the document of
Gift.
(c) Cases, which do not fall under
Section 126 of Transfer of Property Act, unless
the cancellation of Gift or Settlement is
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7 W.P.(MD)NO.21895 OF 2021
mutual, the registering authority shall not rely
upon the self-serving statements or recitals in
the Cancellation Deed. For example
questioning whether the Gift Deed was
accepted or acted upon cannot be decided by
the Registering authority for the purpose of
cancelling the registration of Gift or
Settlement Deed.
43.The Donor must specifically
reserves such right to suspend or revoke the
Gift Deed with the consent of Donee to attract
Section 126 of the Transfer of Property Act.
Unless the Agreement is mutual, expressed in
the recitals, the Registering Authority cannot
accept the document for registration.
However, the factual allegations with regard
to the acceptance of Gift or the issue where
the gift was acted upon or not do not come
under the purview of the Registering Officer.
Hence, the Registering Officer is not excepted
to accept the document unilaterally cancelling
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8 W.P.(MD)NO.21895 OF 2021
the Gift Deed, merely on the basis of the
statement of the Donor or the recitals in the
document for cancellation.
44.From the discussions and
conclusions we have reached above with
reference to various provisions of Statutes and
precedents, we reiterate the dictum of Hon'ble
Supreme Court in Thota Ganga Laxmi and
Ors. V. Government of Andhra Pradesh &
Ors., (2010) 15 SCC 207 and the Full Bench
of this Court in Latif Estate Line India Ltd.,
case, 2011 (2) CTC 1(FB): AIR 2011Mad. 66
and inclined to follow the Judgment of Three
Member Bench of Hon'ble Supreme Court in
Veena Singh's case (2022) 7 SCC 1 and the
judgment of Two-Member Bench of Hon'ble
Supreme Court in Asset Reconstruction
Company (India) Ltd., case, 2022 SCC
Online SC 544 for the following propositions:
(a) A sale deed or a Deed of
Conveyance other than testamentary
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9 W.P.(MD)NO.21895 OF 2021
dispositions, which is executed and registered
cannot be unilaterally cancelled.
(b) Such unilateral cancellation of
Sale Deed or a Deed of Conveyance is wholly
void and non est and does not operate to
execute, assign, limit or extinguish any right,
title or interest in the property.
(c) Such unilateral cancellation of
Sale Deed or Deed of Conveyance cannot be
accepted for registration.
(d) The Transferee or any one
claiming under him or her need not approach
the Civil Court and a Writ Petition is
maintainable to challenge or nullify the
registration.
(e) However, an absolute Deed of Sale
or Deed of Conveyance which is duly executed
by the Transferor may be cancelled by the
Civil Court at the instance of Transferor as
contemplated under Section 31 of Specific
Relief Act.
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10 W.P.(MD)NO.21895 OF 2021
(f) As regards Gift or Settlement
Deed, a Deed of Revocation or Cancellation is
permissible only in a case which fall under
Section 126 of Transfer of Property Act, and
the Registering Authority can accept the deed
of Cancellation of Gift for registration subject
to the conditions specified in Para 42 of this
judgment.
(g) The legal principles above stated
by us cannot be applied to cancellation of
Wills or Power of Attorney Deed, which are
revocable and not coupled with interest.”
6. Applying the aforesaid ratio laid down by the
Hon'ble Full Bench of this Court, the impugned registration is
quashed. This writ petition stands allowed. No costs.
23.12.2022
Index : Yes / No
Internet : Yes/ No
PMU
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11 W.P.(MD)NO.21895 OF 2021
To:
1. The District Registrar,
O/o.The District Registrar Office,
Tenkasi, Tenkasi District.
2. The Sub Registrar,
Sub Registrar Office,
Melaneelithanallur,
Sankarankovil Taluk,
Tenkasi District.
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12 W.P.(MD)NO.21895 OF 2021
G.R.SWAMINATHAN,J.
PMU
W.P.(MD)No.21895 of 2021
23.12.2022
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