Unregistered lease agreement cannot create a 60-year term; occupation is treated as monthly tenancy without registered deed.

An unregistered agreement to lease could not support a claimed 60-year leasehold term because Section 107 of the Transfer of Property Act requires a lease of immoveable property for more than one year to be created by a registered instrument. Where the agreement contemplated execution of a registered lease deed before possession but no such deed was executed, the long-term stipulation was unenforceable. The occupation therefore could not be treated as a protected long-term leasehold right and was treated as a monthly tenancy.

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Issues: Whether an unregistered agreement to lease could be relied upon to claim a 60-year leasehold term and resist treatment of the occupation as a monthly tenancy.

Analysis: The agreement to lease contemplated execution of a registered deed of lease before possession, but no registered lease deed was ever executed. Under Section 107 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, a lease of immoveable property for a term exceeding one year can be made only by a registered instrument. In the absence of such registration, the stipulation of a 60-year term in the agreement to lease could not be enforced, and the occupation could not be treated as a long-term leasehold right.

Conclusion: The unregistered agreement to lease could not be relied upon to claim a 60-year lease, and the premises were rightly treated as held under a monthly tenancy. The appeal was rejected.

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