Section 22 of the Registration Act, 1908: Description of Houses and Land by Government Maps or Surveys

Section 22 of the Registration Act, 1908 explains when the State Government may require a property to be identified by reference to a Government map or survey. It also clarifies when imperfections in the description of a house or land do not prevent registration.

Section 22(1): Description by Government maps or surveys

Where the State Government considers it practicable to describe houses other than houses in towns and lands by reference to a Government map or survey, it may make rules under the Act requiring such descriptions for the purposes of Section 21.

In practical terms, a notified rule may require the property description in a registration document to refer to official survey details. The requirement is not automatically identical in every State: the applicable State registration rules must be checked.

Section 22(2): When an imperfect description is sufficient

Unless a rule made under Section 22(1) provides otherwise, failure to comply with the detailed descriptive requirements of Section 21(2) or Section 21(3) does not, by itself, make a document ineligible for registration if its description is sufficient to identify the property.

This provision distinguishes a missing descriptive particular from an inability to identify the property. It does not dispense with the fundamental requirement in Section 21(1) that a non-testamentary document concerning immovable property contain a description sufficient to identify that property.

Relationship between Sections 21 and 22

Section 21 sets out the general rules for property identification. It covers the street, position, occupancies and house number of urban houses; names, territorial divisions, area, adjoining roads or properties, occupancies and, where practicable, Government map or survey references for other houses and land. Where a document contains a map or plan, Section 21(4) also prescribes the relevant true-copy requirement.

Section 22 supplements those rules: subsection (1) permits the State Government to make survey-based descriptions mandatory in specified circumstances, while subsection (2) protects an otherwise identifiable property description from rejection solely for non-compliance with Section 21(2) or (3), subject to those rules.

Practical checklist for a property document

• Identify the district, locality or village, relevant survey or plot number and area as applicable.
• Describe boundaries and adjoining properties accurately to avoid uncertainty.
• Check whether the State's registration rules prescribe a particular survey, map, cadastral or revenue-record reference.
• Check Section 21(4) separately if the document contains a map or plan.
• Ensure that the property is sufficiently identifiable even where a particular descriptive detail is missing.

Legal note: State amendments, local registration rules and land-record practices may prescribe additional details. A sufficiently identifiable description under the central provision does not override a valid mandatory rule made under Section 22(1).

Legislative note

The reference to the State Government reflects the substitution of the earlier term Provincial Government by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.

Official resources and related provisions

Consult the India Code official legislation portal for the Registration Act, 1908, and the relevant State registration department's notified rules and amendments. Related provisions: Section 21 - property description and maps or plans; Section 23 - time for presenting documents.