Revocation of Gift Deed Before Registration: donor may revoke an incomplete gift of immovable property before registration under Indian law.

A gift of immovable property remains incomplete until the registered instrument comes into existence under the statutory scheme; execution, attestation and delivery of the deed alone do not complete the transfer. Reading Sections 122, 123 and 126 of the Transfer of Property Act with the Registration Act, the donor retains a locus poenitentiae and may revoke the gift before actual registration. Registration may proceed without the donor's consent for the purpose of completing registration, but it does not extinguish a prior revocation. The analogy of sale and mortgage was rejected, and English deed principles were held not to control the Indian statutory framework.

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Issues: Whether a donor of immovable property can revoke a gift after execution and delivery of the gift deed but before actual registration, and whether subsequent registration against the donor's wishes defeats the revocation.

Analysis: Reading Sections 122, 123 and 126 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 together, the majority held that a gift of immovable property is not effected until the registered instrument comes into existence in the manner required by law. Execution, attestation and delivery of the deed do not by themselves complete the gift. Until registration, the transaction remains inchoate and the donor retains a locus poenitentiae. The provisions of the Indian Registration Act, 1908 were held to regulate the act of registration and to permit registration even without the donor's consent, but not to deprive the donor of the power to revoke before completion. The analogy of sale and mortgage was rejected, and the English law of deeds was not treated as controlling the Indian statutory scheme.

Conclusion: The donor could revoke the gift before actual registration, and later registration after revocation did not make the revocation ineffective.

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