Kanwar Raj Singh (D) Th. LRS. vs Gejo (D) Th. LRS. & Ors.
Background
Smt. Gejo had purchased land measuring 71 kanals 8 marlas under a sale deed executed on 6 June 1975 and registered on 23 July 1975. The seller, Kanwar Raj Singh, later gifted a 2/3rd share of the same land to his wife, claiming he had only sold 1/3rd of the property (23 kanals 8 marlas) because he had altered the sale deed's description after signing it but before it was registered. The Trial Court held the entire area was sold; the District Court reversed this in the seller's favour; the High Court, in second appeal, restored the Trial Court's decree. The seller's legal heirs appealed to the Supreme Court.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court held that where a sale deed's full consideration has already been paid at the time of execution, Section 47 of the Registration Act (which lets a registered document operate from a date before its actual registration) means the deed operates from the date it was executed, not the later, unilaterally altered version. Since the seller himself admitted he changed the property description after executing the deed but before registering it, without the buyer's knowledge or consent, that later alteration could not bind the buyer. The Court distinguished this from a Constitution Bench ruling (Ram Saran Lall v. Domini Kuer) which only addressed when a sale is legally "complete," not from which date a registered deed takes effect. Finding no error in the High Court's reasoning, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, with no order as to costs.
Lesson Learnt
A seller cannot unilaterally alter the terms of a sale deed after signing it (even before registration) to reduce what was actually sold. Courts will treat the document as it stood when originally executed and paid for, especially where the buyer never consented to the change.