Tripura High Court
Mr. S. Bhattcharjee vs Mr. S. S. Dey on 6 May, 2022
Author: S. Talapatra
Bench: S. Talapatra
HIGH COURT OF TRIPURA
AGARTALA
WP(C) No. 352 of 2022
Nikhil Tripura Deed Writers' Welfare Association
.............. Petitioenr(s).
vs
The State of Tripura & Ors.
.............. Respondent(s).
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. S. Bhattcharjee, Adv.
Mr. S. Noatia, Adv.
For Respondent(s) : Mr. S. S. Dey, Advocate General.
Mr. D. Bhattacharjee, GA.
Mr. S. Saha, Adv.
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S. TALAPATRA Order 06/05/2022 Heard Mr. S. Bhattacharjee, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. S. S. Dey, learned Advocate General and Mr. D. Bhattacharjee, learned GA assisted by Mr. S. Saha learned counsel for the respondents.
The petitioner is an association of Deed Writers whose profession is to write deeds and to assist the person intending any instrument to be registered.
This court records its appreciation the way the respondents have filed their reply within a shortwhile and the petitioner has filed the response in the form of rejoinder, as this Page 2 of 12 Court on the day of issuing the notice had observed that the adjudication will be put to a fast track considering the nature of controversy.
The grievance that has been canvassed in this writ petition emanates from deficiency and improper functioning of Tripura Online Registration System (for short, TORS) which is integrated to National Generic Document Registration System (for short, NGDRS). According to the petitioner, the persons intending to get the registrable instruments registered are facing harassment. Twenty Five categories of registrable deeds are not being accepted by the online system of registration.
Even in Annexure 2 to the writ petition, the petitioner has repeated the details of shortcomings in the NGDRS software. The deeds, as provided in a tabular form, are facing processual bottlenecks.
Shortcomings in the NGDRS software in respect of the deeds as catalogued by the petitioner:
1. Trust Deed
2. Deed of Declaration
3. Revocation of Trust
4. Deed of Agreement
5. Deed of Amalgamation
6. Rent Agreement (Agreement to lease deed)
7. Deed of Sale (Conveyance Deed of movable property)
8. Deed of Cancellation
9. Cancellation of Power of Attorney
10. Cancellation of Lease Deed
11. Cancellation of WILL
12. Cancellation of Rent Agreement
13. Cancellation of Agreement (cancellation of sale cum agreement) Page 3 of 12
14. Dissolution of Partnership Deed
15. Corrigendum of Partnership Deed and WILL
16. Release Deed
17. Mortgage Deed
18. Promissory Note Deed
19. Execution of Special Power of Attorney
20. Developer Agreement
21. Allocation of Agreement Deed
22. Supplementary Deed
23. Deed of Correction/ Rectification Deed
24. Deed of Adoption
25. Deed of Exchange The petitioner has averred their experience by way of rejoinder.
In para 5, the respondents have admitted that there are technical issues in the software and the process is temporarily not operational. However, the matter has been taken up by NIC, Pune the developer of NGDRS software, through NIC, Agartala and hopefully it will be regularized shortly.
In the rejoinder, the petitioner has further added that the respondents have stated that it is not correct that 25 categories of deeds can be registered and hence, the statement relating to operability by the respondents is unreliable. However, the respondents have admitted unambiguously that there are 13 deeds which cannot be processed through the system for registration.
The petitioner has controverted that statement of the respondents by stating that the format of the trust deed as has Page 4 of 12 been incorporated in the software, is defective. Similarly, the deed for revocation of the trust has not been formatted and the due stamp duty has not been configured. It is mentioned similarly against the release deed. There are many other defects in the software.
It is further submitted that except those 13 categories of deeds, 12 categories of other deeds have been referred to NIC, Pune but the software has not been updated till now, nor has it been made fully operational or user-friendly.
Thus, the petitioner has urged this court to re-introduce the offline registration system till the online system is made stabilized and fully operational. In this regard, Mr. Bhattacharjee, has produced the prints of screenshots of the software operation.
A division bench of this court by the order dated 31.05.2021 delivered in WP(C) 287 of 2021 had suggested some changes in the system, but in the considered view of this court it is not the duty of the court to make the suggestions to the State for development of any software or refixing any operational snag.
In addition to those difficulties, as noted above, Mr. Bhattacharjee, learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that in the online system of registration, the Page 5 of 12 registration by appointing a Commission has been completely discarded. But it cannot be denied that there are persons who are infirm and cannot come to the registration office for their physical inability. The system of registration by appointing commission needs to be re-introduced else the technology will distract a section of the society.
Mr. D. Bhattacharjee, learned GA has submitted with adequate stress that the difficulties, as pointed out by the petitioner, are not entirely disputed by the State. These difficulties need to be removed by upgrading the software. Those categories of deeds have been highlighted. For example the following deeds are admittedly facing the processual difficulty:
1. Trust Deed
2. Revocation of Trust
3. Deed of Agreement
4. Deed of Amalgamation
5. Deed of cancellation
6. Cancellation of WILL
7. Cancellation of Agreement (cancellation of sale cum agreement)
8. Dissolution of Partnership Deed
9. Release Deed
10. Mortgage deed
11. Deed of correction/ Rectification deed
12. Deed of Adoption
13. Deed of Exchange The above categories of deeds are accepted by the system for purpose of registration. But out of 25 categories of Page 6 of 12 deeds, the following categories of deeds (total 12) are not getting accepted by the system for purpose of registration:
1. Deed of Declaration
2. Rent Agreement (Agreement to lease deed)
3. Deed of Sale (conveyance deed of movable property)
4. Cancellation of Power of Attorney
5. Cancellation of lease deed
6. Cancellation of Rent Agreement
7. Corrigendum of partnership deed & Will
8. Promissory Note deed
9. Execution of special power of attorney
10. Developer agreement
11. Allocation of Agreement deed
12. Supplementary deed Mr. Bhattacharjee, learned GA has made a significant statement that the present NGDRS software are being used for registration all over the country, and according to him, it is a time-tested and user-friendly software for purpose of registration.
The parties can book appointment in advance and may attend SRO Office on the pre-appointed time only. They need not wait and waste their time whole day at the SRO Office. Further, the delivery of registered deed is also ensured on the day of Registration itself.
Mr. Bhattacharjee, learned GA has again submitted that the State may require some more time for removing those difficulties or defects in the system and to upgrade it to optimal Page 7 of 12 operation level. In para 14 of the reply, filed by the respondents No. 1 and 3 to 9, it has been asserted that it is not a correct statement that 800-900 deeds were not delivered after introduction of NGDRS in Mohanpur, Sub-Registry Office only.
In para 16, the state has admitted that one party had presented a deed at Sub-Registry Office (SRO), Mohanpur having data entry serial No. 1919 of the deed, but it could not registered. According to the reply, as filed by those respondents, as per their office record, the then SRO (the District Sub-Registrar) could not complete the registration of the partition deed on the ground that the land of ROR vide Khatian No. 2494 is solely in the name of one Smt. Ratna Rani Saha. The court believes that the person whose name is recorded is the predecessor, but the co-sharers did not mutate the names after her death and since in the khatian the persons who intended to get the partition deed registered, the system did not accept it, as they were strangers so far the record of rights is concerned.
There cannot be any complaint that the system requires that ROR should contain the names of the holders of the title, who are making the arrangement to transfer their title or executing the other instruments, requiring registration. The said precondition has to be complied by the persons intending Page 8 of 12 registration. The District Sub-Registrar cannot decide the issue of title as no law permits them, except for limited purpose of verification, to decide on the title. It appears also from the reply, filed by the respondents, that the respondents have taken some inappropriate positions, which do not conform to the notification issued by the Government of Tripura.
Mr. Bhattacharjee, learned GA has further submitted that by the notification dated 19.02.2022 [Annexure R-3 of the reply], registration of various documents shall be made through the process in NGDRS software only. But it cannot be denied that it has been understood by the registering authorities that NGDRS are not ready to accommodate all sorts of documents those may be presented for registration. As it appears, NGDRS is being run experimentally.
This court has taken the advantage of presence of Mr. S. S. Dey, learned Advocate General in this court room. Learned Advocate General has submitted that the State is not averse to accept any proposal in respect of seamless registration and delivery of registered instrument, at a time when it is an admitted position at least 12 categories of deeds cannot be registered through this system. Registration of those categories of deeds should be allowed offline, as existed prior to introduction of Page 9 of 12 NGDRS software unless the system is upgraded to its optimal efficient level. Learned Advocate General has contended that he would take up the issues of registration by the commission with the appropriate authority, the government. By using the portable technology, these issues can be resolved as has been done in other parts of the country or even the same mode can be followed for purpose of registering the other documents, where the biometric identification is required to follow.
Having appreciated the submission of the counsel for the parties, this court is pleased to observe that there is no difference of opinion on the issues those have surfaced for consideration in this writ petition. So, on the basis of the consensus as formed in the final stage of hearing, this writ petition stands disposed of with the following directions:
(a) If the Tripura Online Registration System (for short, TORS) which is integrated to the National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS, for short) is unable to accept the documents which are otherwise fit to be registered, the registering authorities throughout the state shall accept those documents for registration through the offline system that was existing prior to introduction of TORS, for the time being, till the system is expanded, rectified and reconfigured and upgraded to its optimal functional Page 10 of 12 level. But for registration, during the offline system, all the requisites of the online registration shall be obliged and completed by the registering authority and the data will be stored in a repository so that when the system will be upgraded, those data relating to the registered documents can seamlessly be uploaded in the system, so as to avoid future complexities inasmuch as it is only natural that verification of any registered deed will be made through the online system. Therefore, the registering authority shall open a designated and secured repository for preserving the date as indicated above and those will be maintained following a reliable Document Management System (DMS, for short) so that those information can be linked and upgraded to the system without loss of time when the system will be upgraded.
This will be the absolute obligation of the registering authority in order to avoid any mismatch while discharging the duty of uploading the data in the system. For any failure thereof, only the registering authorities will be made responsible.
(b) Further, the steps shall be taken without delay for registration by commission and for that purpose portable kits shall be made as adjunct to the system.
Page 11 of 12
(c) It is further directed that the respondents shall take immediate initiative to expand the system for accommodating various categories of other registrable or non-registrable deeds which the intending person may compulsorily or optionally put for registration. For this purpose, the respondents shall engage the expert agency who are considered best providers of service for upgrading the software or for development of the periphery software for the system. The system shall be made expandable to meet the need.
(d) It is further directed that the due notification in terms of this order shall be issued by the competent authority by 12.05.2022.
In terms of the above, the writ petition stands disposed of. Pending application(s), if any, also stand disposed of.
The petitioner has not raised one issue, but which however has surfaced in the discussion, that for lack of the legal knowledge of the Registration Act and the Registration Rules, some frivolous objections are raised during the registration. Those obstruct the seamless registration. Later on, those objections are found not tenable in law. A series of suggestions have been put to the learned Advocate General to use his office so that the personnel who are working in the various registration Page 12 of 12 offices can be given an intensive training for building up their ability. If need be, a protocol may be framed for those personnel. Even basic technical training may be imparted to the personnel who are responsible for operating the system. Deficiency of personnel, if any, shall be urgently attended to, by the appropriate authority. Such training should be conducted as early as possible, to avert any unnecessary litigation against the State.
No order as to costs.
JUDGE lodh