Section 53(a) Of The Transfer of Property Act Does Not Vest Any Title In The Person Who Takes Possession By Deed

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

YUGEN REALTY, Surat.

When any transaction of purchase and sale takes place between the owner and the buyer regarding the land property, such transactions should be done keeping in mind the provisions of the Transfer of Property Act and other applicable laws. But in some cases, due to the payment of the consideration amount for the land/property, the possession of the land property is handed over to the buyer. But for some reason, the land/property registration. Sale document is not prepared.

After a long time, such buyer files a claim before the Civil Court for declaration of title on the basis of possession and for vesting of title. Therefore, in a suit seeking declaration of vesting of title on the basis of possession obtained under such agreement-deed, the Hon’ble High Court has held that “Section-53(a) of the Transfer of Property Act does not vest any active title in the transferee” by the Hon’ble Chhattisgarh High Court in Shantilal Kumat, that late. Hiralal Ji Kumat’s son etc. vs. Bhujan Singh and Madhorao’s son etc., Special Civil Application No. : 08/2015 dated 09/03/2022, the above principle has been established by passing a final order on 09/03/2022.

Brief facts of this case: The appellant had agreed to purchase land measuring 0.303 hectares at Khasra No. 487 in village Durg from Bhujan Singh and Modharao Singh’s son etc. and the sale consideration was paid and the possession of the land was handed over to the appellant by the owners, regarding which an agreement was made between the parties on 10/02/1984. Also, as per the agreement, the sale document was to be registered after receiving the necessary revenue documents within a period of 2 months from the date of signing the agreement. The document was to be registered.

Ultimately the sale deed was not executed and the appellants/plaintiffs continued in their possession of the land by virtue of the said deed. Finally, a legal notice No. P-2 was issued to the defendants-defendants on 04/05/2012 inviting objections regarding possession and it was stated in the alternative that in case no reply was given to such notice, the plaintiffs should be presumed to be the owners of the property. Even after the notice was served, no reply was given, hence a civil suit was filed by the appellants on 04/02/2013. The suit was dismissed by the trial court and hence this appeal has arisen.

In this case, the fact of possession is not in dispute. The plaintiffs were put in possession by virtue of the deed dated 10/02/1984 in exchange for the agreement. The question, which appears to be a big one, is what was the cause of action for bringing a suit for declaration of title and permanent injunction on the basis of possession for the last 12 years, which was available to the plaintiffs. To show that, the plaintiffs relied heavily on notice No. P-2. Notice No. P-2, though returned undelivered, shows the fact that no interference of any kind was made by anyone in the established possession of the plaintiffs. Therefore, if the plaintiffs are in possession, it cannot be inferred in the absence of any disturbance that the possession is being disturbed and that such right of possession would become a right in rem against the whole community.

Section 53(A) of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 covers the doctrine of partial compliance and is an equitable doctrine. The object of this section is to prevent the transferor or his heirs from taking any advantage of non-registration of documents, if the transferee has performed his part of the contract and has taken possession of the immovable property in pursuance thereof. The appellants/plaintiffs have performed their part of the contract and are in possession of the land. The said section applies even when the specific performance of the contract is prohibited or the contract is unenforceable. Therefore, a plain reading of Section 53(A) of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 makes it clear that this section protects the possession of the appellants/plaintiffs only.

The entire controversy revolves around Section 53(A) of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, where the parties concerned were put in possession in return for a sum of consideration. The equity, on which this section is based, is a principle of partial performance and does not confer any title, therefore, this section cannot be used to make the title perfect. The right vested under section 53(a) of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 is only the right to secure the possession available to the transferee and the section framed accordingly is to impose a statutory restriction on the transferor, but it does not confer any active title on the transferee. The exchange, by which a person is in possession within the meaning of section 53(a) of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, does not result in the ownership of the property. It is, therefore, clear that the equity principle of partial performance will not create any right to vest the ownership of the property by way of a declaratory decree in favour of the plaintiffs.

The appellants were undoubtedly lawfully on the land and in peaceful possession thereof. They were placed in possession by the lawful owners, but a decree of declaratory title cannot be granted in their favour on the ground of mere possession under Section 53(a) of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. It will only help the appellants to preserve their possession, if such possession is held under an unregistered deed/agreement and will not create a right to vest that title.

The Hon’ble High Court has come to the conclusion that the judgment and decree passed by the trial court do not warrant any interference. The appeal is without merit and is dismissed. (Land Laws Judgments, Volume-1, Issue-3, March-2023, Page No. 217)

______________________________________________________

Disclaimer : This information has been collected through secondary research and Yugen Realty Newspaper is not responsible for any errors in the same.

Read more news including local, national, international, business on Yugen Realty Newspaper. Join us on social media to stay updated with the latest news.

FACEBOOK | LINKEDIN  | INSTAGRAM | X (TWITTER) | PINTEREST | TELEGRAM | WHATSAPP | YOUTUBE