Sections 32 and 32A: Persons Who May Present Documents and Compulsory Photographs

Sections 32 and 32A of the Registration Act, 1908 regulate who may present a document for registration and the photographs and fingerprints required on documents. These requirements apply to compulsory as well as optional registration, subject to statutory exceptions and applicable State rules.

Section 32 - Persons to present documents for registration

Except in the cases mentioned in sections 31, 88 and 89, every document to be registered under the Act, whether registration is compulsory or optional, must be presented at the proper registration office by one of the following:

1. Section 32(a): A person executing the document or claiming under it; for a copy of a decree or order, a person claiming under that decree or order.
2. Section 32(b): The representative or assign of such a person.
3. Section 32(c): An agent of such a person, representative or assign, duly authorised by a power of attorney executed and authenticated in the manner prescribed by the Act.

The executant is a person who executes or signs the instrument. A person claiming under a document derives a right or benefit through it. A representative may act in a legally recognised representative capacity; an assign derives the relevant right by assignment. An agent acts under lawful authorisation.

Power of attorney under Section 33

Where presentation is by an agent under section 32(c), section 33 specifies the powers of attorney that are recognisable for this purpose and the manner of execution and authentication. The requirement must be distinguished from a document being presented by its own executant, including a person who executed the document in a representative capacity. The authority, capacity and circumstances of execution should be checked in each case.

Statutory exceptions

Section 31 permits attendance at a private residence for special cause. Section 88 provides certain exemptions for specified government officers and public functionaries, while section 89 deals with copies of certain orders, certificates and instruments sent to registration officers. These provisions operate according to their own conditions.

Section 32A - Compulsory affixing of photograph, etc.

Every person presenting a document at the proper registration office under section 32 must affix his or her passport-size photograph and fingerprints to that document.

Proviso concerning immovable property: Where the document relates to the transfer of ownership of immovable property, the passport-size photograph and fingerprints of each buyer and seller mentioned in the document must also be affixed. This is in addition to the general requirement concerning the person presenting the document.

Section 32A was inserted by the Registration and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2001 (Act 48 of 2001). Registration offices may also require identification, biometric capture, photographs or other steps under applicable State rules and authorised electronic registration procedures.

Practical steps for presenting a document

1. Confirm whether registration is compulsory under section 17 or optional under section 18.
2. Identify the proper registration office and territorial jurisdiction under sections 28 and 29.
3. Check the presentation deadline under sections 23 to 27, including any available statutory exception.
4. Ensure presentation by a person authorised under section 32; where an agent presents, verify the relevant section 33 power of attorney.
5. Arrange the presenter's photograph and fingerprints and, for transfers of ownership of immovable property, those of each buyer and seller mentioned in the document.
6. Comply with the enquiry, identification and admission-of-execution process under section 34 and section 35, along with applicable stamp duty, registration fees and State procedures.

Presentation is different from admission of execution

Section 32 determines who may present the document. Sections 34 and 35 separately govern the registering officer's enquiry, appearance, identity verification and admission or denial of execution. Merely presenting a document does not dispense with these additional requirements.

Official statutory sources

Consult the Registration Act, 1908 on India Code and the Legislative Department, Government of India. Check the relevant State Registration Department for local rules, amendments, electronic registration facilities, identification requirements and fees. State amendments may affect the procedure.

This article explains the central statutory framework. Applicable State amendments and registration rules should be checked before presenting a document.