Partial refusal of registration cannot invalidate a deed against executants who admitted execution.

The Registration Act, 1871 was construed to mean that a deed executed by several persons could not be refused registration in its entirety merely because one executant denied execution. The refusal provision operated distributively, so any refusal was confined to the person denying execution or otherwise under disability, while the deed remained effective for executants who admitted it. The Act was read as permitting registration to have different effects for different executants and as not treating an otherwise valid registered instrument as a nullity because of procedural error by the registering officer. The deed therefore remained admissible and operative against the sons who admitted execution.

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Issues: Whether a deed executed by several persons could be refused registration in its entirety because one executant denied execution, and whether such registration could be treated as invalid so as to exclude the deed from evidence against the executants who admitted execution.

Analysis: The Registration Act, 1871 was read as a whole, including the provisions governing presentation for registration, inquiry by the registering officer, refusal to register, the evidentiary effect of registration, and the consequence of non-registration. The words in the refusal clause were construed distributively, so that refusal was confined to the person or persons denying execution or under disability, rather than destroying the operation of the deed against executants who admitted it. The Act was also treated as contemplating registration and re-registration in relation to different executants at different times, and as not permitting an otherwise valid registered instrument to be treated as a nullity merely because of an error in procedure by the registering officer.

Conclusion: The deed was not invalidated by the mother's denial of execution, and the registered instrument remained admissible and effective against the sons who admitted execution.

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