Sale certificate in SARFAESI auction not compulsorily registrable; title vests on confirmation and copy must be filed in Book No. 1.

A sale certificate issued by the authorised officer in a SARFAESI public auction falls within the exemption in Section 17(2)(xii) of the Registration Act, so it is not compulsorily registrable. Title vests in the auction purchaser on confirmation of sale, and the certificate serves only as evidence of that title. The Court also held that Section 89(4) requires the registering officer to file or scan a copy of the sale certificate in Book No. 1, so refusal to do so was unjustified. The demand to treat the certificate as a sale deed and levy stamp duty under the Indian Stamp Act was rejected.

---

---

Issues: Whether a sale certificate issued by the authorised officer in a public auction under the SARFAESI regime required compulsory registration or payment of stamp duty, and whether the Sub Registrar was bound to file the certificate in Book No. 1.

Analysis: Section 17(2)(xii) of the Registration Act, 1908 excludes from compulsory registration a certificate of sale granted to the purchaser of property sold by public auction by a civil or revenue officer. The Court treated the sale certificate issued pursuant to the public auction as falling within that exemption and held that title vested in the auction purchaser on confirmation of sale, the certificate being only evidence of title. The Court further held that Section 89(4) of the Registration Act, 1908 required only a copy of the sale certificate to be filed or scanned in Book No. 1 by the registering officer, and refusal to do so was unjustified. The demand to treat the certificate as a sale deed and insist on stamp duty under Section 18(c) of Schedule I of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 was rejected.

Conclusion: The sale certificate was not compulsorily registrable, stamp duty was not payable on that basis, and the refusal to file the certificate in Book No. 1 was unsustainable.

---