Madras High Court Declares Section 77-A Unconstitutional

August 3, 2024

The Madras High Court has recently ruled that Section 77-A of the Registration Act, 1908, is unconstitutional. This section, added through a 2022 State amendment, gave District Registrars too much power to cancel property documents if there were accusations of fraud or forgery.

Key Findings of the Court

Justices S.S. Sundar and N. Senthilkumar raised concerns about this. They noted that while the section could help protect honest landowners, it also had the potential to cause serious problems for property owners who were actually in the right.

Legal Implications

The judges pointed out that the existing Sections 22-A and 22-B already allow officials to refuse to register documents under certain conditions. Disputes over property titles are usually handled by civil courts, which follow a structured legal process.

Judicial vs. Executive Authority

The court also mentioned that District Registrars are not qualified as judges. This means there could be a risk of bias because they work within the government. This raises concerns about fairness in handling property disputes.

Purpose of the Registration Act

The main goal of the Registration Act is to keep accurate public records of property. The court stressed that just registering a document doesn’t settle property title issues, which are often complex and need a detailed legal review. Although Section 77-A gave District Registrars the power to cancel registrations, these cancellations are not final. People who disagree with these decisions can challenge them in civil courts, which limits the effectiveness of this provision.

About Section 77-A

Section 77-A of the Indian Income Tax Act, introduced in 2015, allows taxpayers to correct errors in their tax returns within a year of filing without facing penalties. This provision is meant to address honest mistakes rather than deliberate tax evasion, aiming to build trust and reduce disputes. However, it has limitations based on the type of error and when the correction is made.

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