Registered document cancellation requires express statutory power; fraud disputes over registration must be pursued in civil court.

A registering authority cannot annul or recall a document once registration is complete unless the Registration Act, 1908 expressly confers that power. The Court held that the Sub-Registrar's role ends on registration, and that allegations of fraud or invalidity in a registered instrument must be pursued before the civil court, not through a summary administrative process. It further held that Section 82 of the Registration Act, 1908 and Section 21 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 do not authorise cancellation of registration, and that a circular cannot enlarge statutory powers. The circular was therefore ultra vires and was set aside to the extent it permitted annulment of registered documents.

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Issues: Whether the impugned circular could authorize the registering authority to enquire into allegations of fraudulent registration and annul a registered document, and whether such power was consistent with the Registration Act, 1908.

Analysis: The Court held that once a document is registered, the role of the Sub-Registrar stands discharged and there is no express provision in the Registration Act, 1908 empowering the Registrar or Inspector General to recall or cancel an already registered instrument. The Court relied on the Supreme Court's exposition that irregularities in registration do not justify reopening the registration process before the registering authority, and that disputes regarding validity of the document must be taken to the civil court. The Court also held that Section 82 of the Registration Act, 1908 and Section 21 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 do not confer power on the Registrar to annul registration, and the circular could not override the statute.

Conclusion: The circular, to the extent it empowered the Registrar to annul a registered document, was held to be ultra vires the Registration Act, 1908 and was set aside.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded to the extent of invalidating the impugned circular's annulment mechanism, leaving aggrieved parties to pursue appropriate civil remedies against disputed registrations.

Ratio Decidendi: In the absence of express statutory authority, a registering authority cannot cancel or annul a completed registration, and allegations of fraud in relation to a registered document must be pursued before the civil court rather than decided by the Registrar through a summary administrative procedure.

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