Section 60B: Right to Inspection and Production of Documents
Section 60B protects a mortgagor's access to documents of title relating to mortgaged immovable property while the right of redemption continues. It provides for inspection, copying, abstracts and extracts, subject to reasonable timing and payment of applicable expenses.
Text of Section 60B of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882
A mortgagor, as long as his right of redemption subsists, shall be entitled at all reasonable times, at his request and at his own cost, and on payment of the mortgagee's costs and expenses in this behalf, to inspect and make copies or abstracts of, or extracts from, documents of title relating to the mortgaged property which are in the custody or power of the mortgagee.
Meaning and scope of Section 60B
A mortgagor is the person transferring an interest in specific immovable property to secure a loan, debt or other pecuniary obligation. The mortgagee is the person receiving that interest as security, as defined under Section 58.
The right of redemption is the mortgagor's entitlement, on satisfaction of the conditions for redemption, to require the mortgagee to restore the mortgaged interest and perform the acts specified in Section 60. Section 60B operates while that right subsists, even before redemption is completed.
Conditions for inspecting mortgage documents
- Continuing redemption right: the mortgagor's right of redemption must still subsist.
- Reasonable times: inspection is permitted at all reasonable times, not at an unrestricted time chosen without regard to circumstances.
- Request by mortgagor: the right is exercised at the mortgagor's request.
- Expenses: inspection and copying are at the mortgagor's own cost, including payment of the mortgagee's costs and expenses in this behalf.
- Relevant documents: the entitlement concerns documents of title relating to the mortgaged property which are in the mortgagee's custody or power.
What may the mortgagor obtain?
The statutory right expressly covers inspection of title documents, copies, abstracts (summaries of their relevant contents), and extracts (reproductions of relevant portions). It does not, by itself, require the mortgagee to create title documents that are neither in the mortgagee's custody nor power.
Section 60B and Section 60A: different rights
Section 60A deals with directing the assignment of the mortgage debt and transfer of the mortgaged property to a third party in place of re-transfer to the mortgagor, subject to the section's conditions and exceptions. Section 60B instead concerns access to title documents during the subsistence of the redemption right. These are separate statutory rights.
Practical illustration
Suppose an owner mortgages a house and the original title deeds are held by the lender. While the mortgage remains redeemable, the owner may request to inspect those deeds and obtain copies or extracts at a reasonable time, subject to bearing the expenses specified in Section 60B. The request does not, by itself, discharge the mortgage or require immediate return of the original documents.
Related legal provisions and official source
For mortgage definitions and types, see Section 58; for the formal requirements of mortgages, Section 59; for successors deriving title, Section 59A; and for redemption, Section 60.
The statutory text and legislative updates may be checked through the official India Code - Transfer of Property Act, 1882 portal.
Frequently asked questions
Can a mortgagor inspect documents before paying off the loan?
Yes. Section 60B applies while the right of redemption subsists; full repayment is not a prerequisite for inspection under this section.
Who bears the cost of copies?
The mortgagor bears the cost and must pay the mortgagee's costs and expenses in connection with the request, as the provision specifies.
Does the right extend to every document held by a bank?
No. Section 60B specifically concerns documents of title relating to the mortgaged property in the custody or power of the mortgagee.