In the absence of any official notification specifying certain land as that of government or as inalienable by virtue of it being assigned to poorer sections, the sub registrars cannot decline to register such property if people approach them. They cannot insist on production of NOC (no objection certificate) anymore.
2) Disposing scores of petitions that were filed complaining about the non registration of land properties by authorities, Justice C V Nagarjuna Reddy of the AP High Court specified several dos and don'ts for the sub registrars in the state. According to these directives, the registering officers shall not insist on production of NOCs as a pre condition for registration of land.
3) Further, the judgment said the registering officers shall not refuse to receive the documents for registration only on the ground that the properties were included in the prohibitory list sent by the revenue authorities, for reasons such as that the ownership column of the title deed contains dots, or that the land is government waste land in the revenue records or that the land is assigned.
4) In cases of entries containing dots or describing the land as belonging to the government, unless a notification is issued under Section 22-A(2) of the Registration Act, officials shall not refuse to receive and register the documents, Justice Nagarjuna Reddy said. The registration of such documents, however, shall be without prejudice to the right of the government and its functionaries to initiate appropriate proceedings for recovery of possession of the properties covered by such documents, if in their opinion they belong to the government.
5) As far as assigned land is concerned, if there is a clear proof to the effect that such assignments were made prior to the issuance of GO 1142, dated 18-6-1954 in the Andhra area and GO 1406 dated 25-7-1958 in the Telangana area, the registering officials shall receive and register the documents, notwithstanding the fact that the properties were included in the prohibitory lists sent by the revenue authorities. In respect of the documents involving properties assigned subsequent to the issuance of the above mentioned G.Os., in view of the embargo contained in Section 5(2) of the A.P. Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977, the registering officers shall make an endorsement while refusing to receive the document specifying the reason. If the parties feel aggrieved by such orders, they are entitled to avail appropriate remedy as available in law, the judge said.
