Section 90 of the Registration Act, 1908: Exemption of Certain Government Documents from Registration
Section 90 of the Registration Act, 1908 exempts specified government-related land and revenue records from compulsory registration. It also provides a statutory deeming rule for their treatment under sections 48 and 49.
Meaning and scope of Section 90
Ordinarily, documents affecting rights in immovable property may require registration under the Registration Act, 1908, particularly section 17. Section 90 creates a specific exception for the documents and maps described in its five clauses. The exception is based on the nature of the record and the official function under which it is prepared, not merely on the fact that a government office holds it.
Section 90(1): Documents and maps exempted
Sub-section (1) states that neither the Registration Act, 1908 nor the earlier Indian Registration Acts of 1877 and 1871, or the enactments repealed by them, require or have required registration of the specified classes of documents and maps.
Clause (a): Land-revenue settlements
Documents issued, received or attested by an officer engaged in making a settlement or revision of settlement of land revenue, if they form part of the records of that settlement.
Clause (b): Government land surveys
Documents and maps issued, received or authenticated by an officer engaged on behalf of Government in making or revising a survey of land, if they form part of the survey record.
Clause (c): Village revenue records
Documents periodically filed in a revenue office under applicable law by patwaris or other officers responsible for preparing village records.
Clause (d): Government grants and assignments
Sanads, inam, title deeds and other documents purporting to be, or evidencing, grants or assignments by Government of land or any interest in land.
Clause (e): Specified Bombay Land-Revenue Code notices
Notices under sections 74 or 76 of the Bombay Land-Revenue Code, 1879, concerning relinquishment of occupancy by occupants or of alienated land by its holders, subject to the applicable territorial law.
Section 90(2): Effect under Sections 48 and 49
For the purposes of sections 48 and 49, the documents and maps covered by section 90 are deemed to have been and to be registered in accordance with the Act. This is a statutory legal fiction and does not mean that every government document is automatically exempt from registration.
Section 48 deals with the priority of duly registered documents relating to property over certain oral agreements or declarations, subject to its statutory qualifications. Section 49 concerns the consequences of non-registration of documents required to be registered, including limitations on their effect and use in evidence, subject to its proviso.
How Section 90 differs from Sections 88 and 89
Section 88 provides procedural concessions for specified documents executed by or in favour of government officers or certain public functionaries. Section 89 requires copies of specified orders, certificates and instruments to be forwarded to registering officers for filing in Book No. 1. Section 90, by contrast, expressly exempts the enumerated documents and maps from the requirement of registration.
Practical considerations
Before relying on section 90, identify the document's issuing authority, its statutory purpose and whether it forms part of the required settlement, survey or village record. For grants and assignments, verify that the document actually evidences a grant or assignment by Government. State amendments, local revenue laws and the specific character of the instrument may affect the analysis.
Official legal resources
Consult the India Code legislative database for the Registration Act, 1908 and related legislation, and the Legislative Department for central legislative resources. Check applicable state amendments and official revenue rules for the property concerned.
Conclusion
Section 90 protects specified official land-revenue, survey and government-grant records from the ordinary registration requirement and treats them as registered for the limited statutory purposes of sections 48 and 49. The exemption must be applied to the particular categories enumerated in the section, not indiscriminately to all government records.