An unregistered relinquishment deed for inherited property is not admissible as evidence in court, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court (HC) has ruled “As such, relinquishment deed requires to be registered otherwise it is not admissible in evidence. In the present matter, the relinquishment deed itself is not produced at all nor it is the case of defendant that it was the registered one. As such, appeal is liable to be allowed,” the HC said in an order dated March 6, 2023.
Reregistering of the relinquishment deed is mandated under Section 17(1)(B) of the Registration Act, 1908.
Case study
The appellant and respondent are brother and sister. Their father, who owned and possessed the field property situated at Mouza Sayyadpur and Abadalpur, Tahsil Ashti, District Wardha, died on March 3, 1977, leaving behind him, the appellant and respondent as his legal heirs. The appellant and the respondent have equal share in the field property after the death of their father.
The appellant issued registered notice on May 3, 1986, for partition. The respondent received it but he did not take any cognizance of it nor did he replied.
The respondent in the meantime obtained signature of the appellant on one stamp by saying that it was relating to partition. The appellant came to know that the respondent had taken disadvantage of the faith of the appellant and created one false document as deed of relinquishment. When the respondent applied for mutation on the basis of the said alleged relinquishment deed in 1990, she came to know that the appellant never executed any relinquishment deed in favour of the respondent.
The defendant stated that the suit property was the self-acquired property of his father and therefore he was the exclusive owner and possessor of the suit land. The lower court after considering the evidence on record dismissed the suit of the appellant/plaintiff. Being aggrieved by the same, the appellant filed an appeal before the district court Wardha. The appellate court also dismissed the same with costs.
“If there is relinquishment of right in respect of immovable property through a document … and if the same is not registered, (it) becomes an inadmissible document as envisaged under Section 49 of the Registration Act,” said the HC while allowing the second appeal.
