Mere Registered Sale Deed Won't Confer Ownership: Supreme Court

Last Updated:July 15, 2025, 03:30 IST

The court highlighted issues concerning the avoidance of proper deed execution and registration as modes of freehold immovable property transfer

The SC was addressing an appeal by Mahinoor Fatima Imran and others against the Telangana HC's division bench judgment that dismissed their appeal against a single judge's order. (Image: PTI/File)

The Supreme Court has ruled that a registered sale deed alone does not confer ownership of a property.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran observed in a case that while the title was claimed to have been validly obtained through instruments of conveyance, the vendor’s title was questionable. Furthermore, actual possession had not been proven.

The court was addressing an appeal by Mahinoor Fatima Imran and others against the Telangana High Court’s division bench judgment that dismissed their appeal against a single judge’s order.

The appellants, legal representatives of the original owners/declarants, asserted their possession and ownership. The respondents, who were the writ petitioners, claimed their possession based on unchallenged title deeds.

The appellants argued that the sale agreement from March 19, 1982, and the executed title deeds could not confer any title to the vendees, as the vendor did not have valid title.

The respondents, who were the writ petitioners, based their claims on the decision in Suraj Lamp & Industries Pvt Ltd Vs State of Haryana & Anr (2012).

The bench, however, said, “The decision has been cited to argue that the title deeds; registered instruments of conveyance, are to be deemed valid unless set aside or declared void by a Civil Court of competent jurisdiction. There is no such dictum in the said decision wherein a division bench of this court was concerned with conveyances made on the strength of agreements of sale, General Power of Attorney and Wills."

The court highlighted issues concerning the avoidance of proper deed execution and registration as modes of freehold immovable property transfer, particularly in light of Sections 17 and 49 of the Registration Act. The practice of using Power of Attorney sales with sale agreements and wills, instead of proper deeds of conveyance upon full consideration receipt, was criticised.

The court stressed that while document registration informs the public that a document has been executed, it does not confer unimpeachable validity on all registered documents.

The bench noted that the writ petitioners claimed proper conveyances through registered sale deeds from Bhavana Society, based on an unregistered agreement from 1982, which cannot be recognised as a valid transfer method.

The bench pointed out, “An instrument of conveyance is compulsorily registrable as required under the Registration Act. Section 23 prescribes four-months’ time for presenting a document for registration from the date of its execution. Section 24 provides that if there are several persons executing a document at different times, such document may be presented for registration or re-registration within four. months from the date of such execution."

The court concluded that the original and revalidated 1982 agreement could not result in a valid title, even if the subsequent instrument was registered.

In the case, the single judge did not decide the title but raised valid suspicion regarding the vendor’s title in the deed of conveyance. The writ petitioners’ claim was based on a sale agreement, which is not a proper deed of conveyance, especially as it was not a registered document.

The bench stated that the title is prima facie suspect, disqualifying the petitioners from claiming rightful possession, which was also unproven.

The dispute involved approximately 53 acres of prime land in Raidurg Panmaktha, Telangana, claimed based on registered sale deeds executed by M/s Bhavana Cooperative Housing Society. The court, while restoring the single judge’s judgment, held that Bhavana Society had no valid or legal title to transfer, making the sale deeds void.

Sanya Talwar

Sanya Talwar, Editor at Lawbeat, has been heading the organisation since its inception. After practising in courts for over four years, she discovered her affinity for legal journalism. She has worked previousl...Read More

Sanya Talwar, Editor at Lawbeat, has been heading the organisation since its inception. After practising in courts for over four years, she discovered her affinity for legal journalism. She has worked previousl...

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