Kochi: Obstacles in land registration continue despite the high court’s (HC) repeated ruling that sub-registrars have no right to insist upon prior title deeds (munaadharam) for registration of land. Sub-registrar's uphold that in cases where prior title deeds are not available, owners has to obtain a HC order to register their land. 

The fear that disputes regarding ownerships might come up later motivates Sub-registrars’ to act in this manner. HC issued the order stating that prior title deed is not a necessary document to register land in the 2018 P Narayanan’s case and later on in Sumathi’s case.

In all the similar cases that followed, these two cases were taken as a precedent and orders issued accordingly. This order is especially helpful in cases where prior title deeds have been irrevocably lost. 

Earlier too, land registration was allowed if a notarised affidavit along with a newspaper clipping stating the prior title deed as lost was submitted. Document writers (aadharam ezhuthu) state that the HC order will prove to be beneficial in waiving these proceedings. However, even banks are still hesitant to offer loans to individuals who cannot produce prior land deeds.

What the HC said in P. Narayanan and Sumathi’s case

The HC has allowed registration of land without prior title deeds based on the argument that only the right of a person owning a piece of land is being transferred to another. In the case filed by Palakkad native P. Narayanan, the HC single bench had clarified that in registering land, there is no need for the Sub-Registrar to examine whether the land was acquired through a title deed (aadharam) or via Record of Rights (ROR)/Patta. 

The court clarified that ownership cannot be completely established with land registration alone. This order was further clarified in Sumathi’s case. It stated that along with the ownership certificate, if the details are available in the basic tax register, thandaper (revenue record of property), etc, then prior title deeds are not a requisite for registration.