Soumya Shekhar

Soumya is an independent legal consultant with over 7 years of experience. An alumnus of National Law University, Delhi and National University of Singapore, she has worked with various Tier-1 Law firms and is an expert in employment law, contract drafting and legal research. She enjoys writing and has been actively contributing articles for LegalKart for more than a year.

27 POST

Property

DUPLICATE LAND REGISTRATION DOCUMENT

Moving houses is a pain! Often in the process of moving, we end up losing important documents. A land registration document as proof of ownership. Losing a land registration document may not bode very well for you. You do not have to worry as there is a provision to obtain a duplicate land registration document.

How to get a duplicate land registration Document?

You should follow certain steps in order to get your duplicate land registration document. These steps are:

File a police complaint

A land registration document is a crucial document. If it gets lost, then you should file a complaint with the police. The owner of the house should only file this complaint. He should also explain the complaint and state that the original documents were lost, misplaced, or stolen. Keep the copy of the complaint filed as it may be used to obtain the duplicate land registration document.

Give an advertisement in the newspaper

Like with all lost things, one should publicize that a land registration document is lost and give the return address in the advertisement. If, within a certain time, no one comes forward to return the document, then you can proceed to the next step.

Make an Application for the Certified Copy of the Land Registration Document

You will have to obtain a Form 22 application, either online or from the sub-registrar’s office. Fill this form and submit it with the sub-registrar to obtain a duplicate land registration document. If the document you have lost/misplaced is a patta record, you also have to apply it to the revenue office.

A duplicate copy of the Land Registration Document

Once you have applied to receive the certified copy of the document, you need to pay a certain fee to the relevant department. After the fee has been paid, a duplicate copy of your land registration document shall be issued. Many would think that what if I had a photocopy, could I use that? The answer is no! You should always try to get a legally certified copy of the document which is lost. A land registration record is proof of ownership, and hence, you should always follow the due procedure of obtaining a duplicate copy of the land registration.

Documents Required to Obtain Duplicate Land Registration Copy

When you apply for a duplicate land registration copy, you should also accompany your application with certain documents. These documents are:

Copy of FIR: As a first step, you should always file a complaint with the police. Keep the copy of the complaint with you and attach it with the application you file before the sub-registrar to get a duplicate copy of your land registration document.
Copy of newspaper advertisement: You should also attach a copy of the advertisement you published in the newspaper along with your application form. This would enable the sub-registrar to know that you still have not found the lost/misplaced document despite trying.
Copy of share certificates issued: Typically, you are given share certificates when you buy a piece of land. Keep them secure and attach copies of them when applying for a certified duplicate copy of land registration.
Notarized undertaking: A notarized undertaking should also be given along with the application form.

Obtaining a duplicate copy of the land registration document should not be a harrowing experience if you know all the right steps to take. Remember to keep all your documents in order before applying for a certified duplicate copy of the land registration record.

Property

All you wanted to know about Online House Registration

If you have bought or otherwise acquired a house, this transaction needs to be registered. House registration is necessary for two reasons:

Every State maintains land records. The land record of every piece of land records the persons who have rights over that land. Hence, the land record for your house will reflect who has ownership over that house. For instance, if you are the owner, then it will mention you as the owner; if you have an easement over the land, then it will mention you as an easement-holder, and so on.
Unless you have inherited the house, the transaction by which you have acquired the house will not take effect until the transfer deed is registered. If this is the case, you need to register the house to acquire legal rights over it in the first place.

House Registration Process

You will have to register your house with the local Sub-Registrar of Assurances, who has jurisdiction over the locality in which your house is located.

Most states now allow some steps of house registration online. Depending on your State, a house registry online will be available for some (but not all) house registration procedure steps. For the remaining step[s] of the online house registry, you will need to visit the Sub-Registrar’s Office. Even in states which allow the maximum number of steps online, you have to make a single visit to the Sub-Registrar’s office.

The process typically involves the following steps:

Book an appointment. You will get an appointment letter.
Pay the prescribed registration fees. You will get a receipt for the fees paid.
Present/Upload a copy of the transfer deed (the legal document by which you acquired the property, such as a Sale Agreement) and the identity proofs of the parties and witnesses.
The parties, and the witnesses, have to be physically present at the Sub-Registrar’s office at the date, and time, mentioned in the appointment letter. If all documents are in order, the Sub-Registrar will register the deed and return the original deed with the deed's registration number mentioned on it.

Depending on your State, Steps 1, 2, or 3 can be done online. However, in every State, for Step 4, the parties and the witnesses must be present.

The online house registration procedure for a rented house is the same as the online house registration procedure for any other house.

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Online House Registration Check List

This online house registry checklist will help you ensure that all the requirements of the house registration procedure fulfilled:

Ensure that the transfer deed (the legal document by which you have acquired your house, such as a Sale Deed, a Gift Deed, etc.) is, in writing, signed by the parties, attested by at least two independent witnesses, and executed on stamp paper of value equal to the stamp duty payable on the transaction.
Pay the registration fees, and take a receipt. If your State allows this step to be done online, carry the receipt with you when you visit the Sub-Registrar’s office.
Some states may require you to present a true copy of the transfer deed. The Registration Rules of your State will specify this and tell you how to make a true copy (if a true copy is required).
If this step is allowed to be done online in your State, upload copies of photographs, and identity proofs, of the parties and the attesting witnesses. In any case, carry copies, and originals, of all these documents at the time of visiting the Sub-Registrar’s office.
Ensure that all the parties and the attesting witnesses are present at the Sub-Registrar’s office on the appointment date and time.
The original transfer deed will be returned to you. If registration has been successfully done, ensure that the registration number is mentioned on the original deed with the Sub-Registrar's seal and signature.

Property

SUPREME COURT JUDGMENTS ON ANCESTRAL PROPERTY

The Supreme Court in recent years has always taken a gender-neutral stand when it came to division of property between daughters and sons. The judiciary continues to take progressive steps towards making succession law more women friendly. In its 11 August 2020 landmark judgment in Vineeta Sharma v Rakesh Sharma, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court held that daughters and sons have equal coparcenary rights in a Hindu undivided family (HUF). In its decision, the Supreme Court clarified two points:

coparcenary rights are acquired by daughters on their birth; and
fathers need not have been alive when the 2005 amendment to the Hindu Succession Act 1956 was passed.

Supreme Court Judgment on Parents’ Property

The 2005 amendment conferred equal status on both sons and daughters of coparceners. Prior to the 2005 amendment, coparcenary rights were granted only to male descendants (ie, sons) of coparceners. However, while the 2005 amendment sought to grant equal rights to sons and daughters, the wording gave rise to various lacunae, which led the Supreme Court to issue contradictory rulings on this issue.

Until the Vineeta Sharma judgment, equal status was granted only to daughters whose fathers were alive when the amendment came into force on 9 September 2005. The Supreme Court upheld this view in 2015. However, in 2018 the Supreme Court issued a contradictory ruling in Danamma v Amar, granting two daughters of a coparcener rights in their father's property even though he had passed away in 2001.

According to the decision in Vineeta Sharma, equal rights conferred on daughters of coparceners by the 2005 amendment apply from birth, irrespective of when their father dies. The Supreme Court has clarified that the 2005 amendment applies retrospectively and not only in cases where the father was alive on the date on which the 2005 amendment took effect.

Supreme Court Judgments On Ancestral Property

The decision of Vineeta Sharma has important implications for division of ancestral property. This ruling applies subject to the condition that the ancestral property should not have been partitioned by the father before 20 December 2004. As long as the property remained ancestral property and was not partitioned as of this date, a daughter can now claim an interest therein.

As per Hindu Law, a person automatically acquires the right to his or her share in the ancestral property at the time of their birth. An ancestral property is the one which is inherited up to four generations of male lineage. A property is regarded ancestral under two conditions - if it is inherited by the father from his father, that is the grandfather after his death; or inherited from the grandfather who partitioned the property during his lifetime. In case, the father acquired the property from grandfather as a gift, it will not be regarded as an ancestral property.

A son can claim his share in an ancestral property even during the lifetime of his father. In any case, the applicant seeking his share in the property must prove his succession. However, the act does not count a stepson (the son of the other parent with another partner, deceased or otherwise) among the Class I heirs.

The court, in some cases, allows a stepson to inherit the father’s property. For instance, in a case addressed by the Bombay High Court, the applicant was the son of a deceased Hindu woman’s issue with her first husband. The woman acquired the property from her second husband who did not have any legal heir except his wife. The court upheld the stepson’s claim and declared that after the woman’s death, her son - the stepson of the second husband - could claim his succession over the property. This decision was made when the nephews and grand-nephews of the deceased second husband claimed title to the property.

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Supreme Court Judgments On Father's Property

According to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, a son or a daughter has the first right as the Class I heirs over the self-acquired property of his or her father if he dies intestate (without leaving a will). As a coparcener, an individual also has the legal right to acquire his or her share in an ancestral property. But in certain situations, a son may not receive his share in his father’s property. These situations include a father bequeathing his property to someone else by way of will.

The Supreme Court has time and again given progressive decisions and has made devolution of property a more equitable arrangement.