Section 84 of the Registration Act, 1908 - Registering Officers Deemed Public Servants

Section 84 of the Registration Act, 1908 defines the legal status of registering officers, imposes a duty to furnish information when lawfully required, and treats proceedings under the Act as judicial proceedings for the purpose specified in the Indian Penal Code.

Text of Section 84

Meaning and scope of Section 84

1. Registering officers are public servants - Section 84(1)

A registering officer appointed under the Registration Act is treated as a public servant for the purposes stated in Section 84(1). The provision covers officers acting in the statutory registration system, including Registrars and Sub-Registrars appointed under the Act. This status is relevant to legal duties, safeguards and offences concerning public servants; it does not exempt an officer from accountability for unlawful acts.

The statutory wording refers to the Indian Penal Code, 1860. For offences and proceedings arising after the commencement of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the applicable new penal law, repeal and savings provisions, and the relevant dates must also be considered.

2. Duty to provide information - Section 84(2)

Every person is legally bound to furnish information when required by a registering officer acting under the Registration Act. The requirement must be connected with the officer's lawful statutory functions. The provision does not confer an unrestricted power to demand information unrelated to registration proceedings or override other applicable legal protections.

3. Proceedings treated as judicial proceedings - Section 84(3)

Section 84(3) specifically extends the expression "judicial proceeding" in Section 228 of the Indian Penal Code to proceedings under the Registration Act. Section 228 IPC concerns intentional insult or interruption to a public servant while sitting in a judicial proceeding. This deeming provision is directed to that statutory purpose and should not be read as converting every registration proceeding into a court trial for all legal purposes.

Practical implications

• Official functions: Registration officers perform statutory functions involving presentation, identification, examination and registration of documents.
• Cooperation: Parties must provide information that the registering officer is legally entitled to require.
• Orderly proceedings: Deliberate insults or interruptions may attract applicable penal provisions where their ingredients are established.
• False statements and impersonation: Separate penalties may apply under Section 82; prosecution-related provisions appear in Section 83.

Related provisions

Section 81 deals with intentional misconduct in endorsing, copying, translating or registering documents. Sections 85 to 87 address unclaimed documents, protection for good-faith official acts and certain procedural defects. State amendments and registration rules may affect local practice.

Official statutory reference

Read the Registration Act, 1908 on India Code (official PDF) and consult the relevant State Registration Department for applicable state amendments and rules.

Legal note: The central statutory wording is reproduced with the apparent repeated words "public servant" in the source corrected as a typographical duplication. Application of penal provisions to particular conduct depends on the date of the alleged offence and applicable savings provisions.