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"49. Effect of non-registration of documents required to be registered-- No document required by Section 17 or by any provision of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 to be registered shall--

(a) affect any immovable property comprised therein, or

(b) confer any power to adopt, or

(c) be received as evidence of any transaction affecting such property or conferring such power, unless it has been registered.

Provided that an unregistered document affecting immovable property and required by this Act, or the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, to be registered may be received as evidence of a contract in a suit for specific performance under Chapter II of the Specific Relief Act, 1877, or as evidence of part performance of a contract for the purposes of Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, or as evidence of any collateral transaction not required to be effected by registered instrument."

(c) be received as evidence of any transaction affecting such property or conferring such power or creating such right or relationship unless it has been registered :

Provided that an unregistered document affecting immovable property and required by this Act or the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882), to be registered may be received as evidence or part performance of a contract for the purpose of Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882), or as evidence of any collateral transaction not required to be effected by registered instrument."

28. By the amendment Act 57 of 1976, as applicable in the State of U. P., in Clause (b) of Section 49, the words "confer any power to adopt or" has been substituted with the words "confer any power or create any right or relationship, or" and in the proviso, the words "as evidence of contract in a suit for specific performance under Chapter II of the Specific Relief Act 1877, or" has been omitted.

29. The result of this amendment is that, prior to 1.1.77, an unregistered document affecting immovable property could be enforced in a suit for specific performance of a contract, but after the amendment of Section 49 of the Registration Act w.e.f. 1.1.77, an unregistered document could not be enforced in a suit for specific performance of a contract.

38. To sum up, the substantial questions of law framed, are answered as under:

ON QUESTION NO. A-- I hold, that in view of the amendment made in Section 17(2)(v) of the Registration Act, and in Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act, by Amendment Act No. 57 of 1976, as applicable in the State of U. P.. the sale certificate is not exempted from registration under Section 17(2)(v) of the Registration Act and was required to be compulsorily registered.

ON QUESTION NO. B-- I hold, that in view of the amendment made in Section 49 of the Registration Act by Amendment Act 57 of 1976, as applicable in the State of U. P., the sale certificate, being an unregistered document, could not be enforced in a suit for specific performance of a contract for sale of an immovable property.