Family arrangement memorandum need not be registered where it only records a completed partition and may serve collateral proof of possession.

A writing that merely records a completed family arrangement or past partition, and only lists the allotments already agreed between branches, does not itself create or declare rights in immovable property. It therefore does not attract compulsory registration under Section 17(1)(b) of the Registration Act, 1908. Even if unregistered, such a document may still be considered for the limited collateral purpose of showing the nature of possession under Section 49. The document here was treated as a memorandum of an earlier family settlement intended to resolve competing claims and preserve family harmony, rather than as an instrument conveying title for the first time.

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Issues: Whether the document Exh. P-12 dated 3 August 1955 was an instrument of partition requiring registration, or merely a memorandum of an earlier family arrangement and hence admissible in evidence.

Analysis: The document recorded that the parties had already mutually agreed on the division of the remaining joint properties and listed the allotments made to each branch. A writing which merely recites a completed arrangement or contains only a list of properties allotted does not itself operate to create or declare rights in immovable property, and therefore does not attract compulsory registration under Section 17(1)(b) of the Registration Act, 1908. Such a document may also be looked into for the collateral purpose of showing the nature of possession under Section 49 of the Registration Act, 1908. The arrangement was also in the nature of a family settlement intended to resolve competing claims and preserve amity, and not a conveyance of title for the first time.

Conclusion: The document was not an instrument of partition requiring registration; it was admissible as a memorandum of family arrangement and for the limited collateral purpose of proving possession and the nature of the division.

Ratio Decidendi: A document that merely records a completed family arrangement or past partition, and does not by itself effect a transfer or declaration of rights in immovable property, does not require registration and may be used for collateral purposes notwithstanding non-registration.

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