Registrars may get power to verify land records before deals

New Delhi: The Centre's new Registration Bill will allow states to prepare rules for enabling registrars to verify land rights records thoroughly before registration.

The step is aimed at curbing fraud in land deals and reducing litigation, Manoj Joshi, land resources secretary, told ET.

Extant rules do not require such scrutiny by registrars. The latest proposal is expected to provide an extra layer of comfort to retail buyers and investors who currently rely mostly on their own due diligence for land acquisition.


The new bill will also have provisions for a completely paperless registration process, wherever feasible, to start with, he said, adding this could then be scaled up. Such a move would ensure ease of doing business and ease of living, while ensuring transparency in recordkeeping.

Joshi said the land resources department will soon circulate a Cabinet note on the new registration bill that would replace the 117-year-old Registration Act of 1908.

Combined land acquisitions in top eight cities and scores of tier-II and tier-III cities scaled a fresh peak in the first half of 2025. More than 2,898 acres of land have been transacted across 76 deals during the period, exceeding the total 2,515 acres across 133 deals in the entire 2024, according to Anarock Property Consultants.

The value of land transactions in these cities hit ₹30,885 crore in the first half of 2025, higher than the entire 2024.

Key bill provisions

The land resources department under the rural development ministry had floated the draft Registration Bill, 2025, in May for stakeholder comments. It has since obtained the comments and is now ready to prepare the Cabinet note, Joshi said.

The draft bill has also introduced provisions for electronic presentation and admission of documents, issuance of electronic registration certificates, and digital maintenance of records.

The bill has proposed to expand the list of documents in property transactions that will require mandatory registration. These include agreements to sell, powers-of-attorney, sale certificates issued by authorities, equitable mortgage arrangements, and certain instruments based on court orders.

The draft bill also makes it tougher for officers to deny registration on flimsy grounds, stipulating clear and objective grounds for this purpose. It also introduces an enabling provision for authorities to issue rules on cancellation of registration subject to certain standards, including compliance with principles of natural justice.