Title passes on sale deed only when parties intend completion on payment and receipt exchange, not registration alone

Title did not pass merely on execution and registration of a sale deed where the parties intended completion only on payment of consideration and exchange of the registration receipt. The document and surrounding circumstances can control the apparent recital of payment, subject to the limits of Section 92 of the Evidence Act, 1872. On the stated facts, the purchasers failed to prove prior payment, the vendor retained possession and the registration receipt, and the vendor was therefore entitled to repudiate the transaction; the relief claimed by the purchasers was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether title passed to the purchasers on execution and registration of the sale deed, whether the vendor was justified in cancelling the sale for non-payment of consideration, and whether the purchasers were entitled to the relief claimed.

Analysis: A sale deed ordinarily transfers ownership on execution and registration, but the decisive factor is the intention of the parties as gathered from the document and surrounding circumstances. Where the deed or the proved arrangement shows that payment of consideration and exchange of the registration receipt were conditions for completion of the transaction, the transfer of title stands postponed until such exchange. Evidence may be led to show that the recitals acknowledging payment are untrue, subject to the limits of Section 92 of the Evidence Act, 1872. On the facts, the purchasers failed to prove payment of consideration before repudiation, possession was retained by the vendor, and the registration receipt was also retained by him under the Bihar practice of ta khubzul badlain.

Conclusion: Title did not pass to the purchasers on execution and registration of the sale deed, the vendor was entitled to repudiate the transaction for non-payment of consideration, and the relief claimed by the purchasers was not sustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the parties intend that a sale shall be completed only upon payment of consideration and exchange of the registration receipt, title does not pass merely on execution and registration of the sale deed, and the vendor may repudiate the sale if the consideration is not paid within a reasonable time.

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