As a solution to curb property transactions based on fraudulent documents, the Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission-2 on Friday asked the state government to empower sub-registrars to cancel such registrations.
Asking the government to tweak the Registration Act 1908, the commission has noted that under the existing law, aggrieved property owners have to approach civil courts to settle disputes concerning fraudulent registrations, which can drag on for years.
“This gives scope for unscrupulous persons to harass property owners,” it noted.
The Commission, headed by retired chief secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar, submitted its 4th and 5th reports containing 1,609 recommendations to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday.
The Commission has pointed out that under the existing legal provision, the registering authority does not have power to cancel fake registrations done without any ownership documents or by impersonation of the real owner.
To resolve this, the government can draw on legal amendments to the Registration Act in Tamil Nadu and Haryana. For instance, Tamil Nadu has amended laws to empower district registrar to cancel registration after issuing show cause notice and has empowered registration officers also to cancel property registrations if they are found to be fraudulent.
On lands being converted into non-agriculture sites, the Commission said the layout approval software system should be linked to Bhoomi (land records) so that there is immediate updating of the relevant documents.
In a significant observation, the Commission pointed out that filling out the mortgage provision form on the Kaveri registration software is “cumbersome” as there is no auto-save option. “At present, if there is a break due to power cut or server issue, the concerned parties have to re-enter all data from the beginning,” the report stated, batting for an auto-save option.
(Published 03 February 2023, 17:26 IST)
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