Modernising India's Document Registration; An Overview Of The Registration Bill, 2025

With registered documents now playing a central role in financial transactions, administrative processes, and legal adjudication, and with technology increasingly shaping governance, the Draft Bill attempts to create a forward-looking, uniform, and technology-enabled registration regime.

The Draft Bill seeks to:

· align the registration system with a modern, online, paperless, and citizen-centric framework;

· ensure a robust, reliable, and adaptable registration process;
respond to evolving socio-economic practices and technological developments;

· support due diligence, service delivery, and legal adjudication through dependable registered documents;

· build upon existing innovations such as online document submission and digital identity verification; and

· clearly define the roles and responsibilities of registering officers to safeguard the integrity of the registration process.

1. Facilitating Online Registration

The Draft Bill enables a shift from a paper-heavy, office-centric registration system to a streamlined online registration framework by introducing electronic processes at every key stage of registration. Instead of treating digitisation as an add-on, the Bill builds it directly into the statutory scheme.

Some key features pertaining to online registration are as under:

• Electronic submission and identity verification:

Section 13 permits electronic presentation of documents for registration, removing the need for physical submission in routine cases. This is complemented by Section 18, which allows Aadhaar-based authentication on a consent basis while expressly recognising alternative identification methods and enabling electronic integration with other record-keeping systems.

• Digital proof of registration:

Section 25 authorises the issuance of electronic registration certificates, allowing parties to receive legally valid proof of registration without waiting for physical copies.

• Paperless record management:

Sections 45 and 46 provide for electronic maintenance of records, e-filing, and long-term digital preservation of registered documents, ensuring secure storage and easy retrieval.

2. Expansion of Compulsory Registration

The Draft Bill significantly widens the range of documents that are subject to compulsory registration, moving beyond traditional conveyances to cover modern real estate, financing, and corporate transactions that affect immovable property.

• Agreements for sale brought within compulsory registration:

Section 12(1)(f) expressly mandates registration of agreements to sell, including developer agreements and promoter agreements. Under the 1908 Act, such documents were generally outside compulsory registration unless invoked for purposes such as Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act.

• Mandatory registration of powers of attorney enabling transfer:

Section 12(1)(g) introduces a new requirement that any power of attorney authorising the transfer of immovable property must be compulsorily registered, even if it does not itself transfer title.

• Transparency in equitable mortgage transactions:

Section 12(1)(h) requires registration of documents setting out the terms and conditions of a mortgage by deposit of title deeds, a category that was largely unregulated under the 1908 framework unless the document itself created rights.

• Recognition of corporate restructuring transactions:

Section 12(1)(j) introduces an entirely new category requiring registration of amalgamations, mergers, demergers, and other restructuring instruments that transfer immovable property under company law mechanisms—an area not addressed at all in the 1908 Act.

3. Institutional Strengthening and Governance Reforms

The Draft Bill seeks to modernise the registration establishment by introducing a more responsive administrative hierarchy. In addition to the existing offices of Inspector General, Registrar, and Sub-Registrar, Section 3 provides for appointment of Additional, Joint, Deputy, and Assistant Inspectors General of Registration. This expanded structure is intended to strengthen supervision, improve administrative efficiency, and better align governance with local requirements.

4. Structured Grounds for Refusal of Registration

Recognising the increasing reliance on registered documents in commercial and legal contexts, the Draft Bill introduces clear statutory grounds for refusal of registration. Section 58 lists objective reasons such as defects in execution, identity verification issues, inadequate property description, absence of statutory approvals, or non-payment of prescribed fees. At the same time, the Bill clarifies that registering officers are not empowered to decide questions of title, thereby preserving the procedural and evidentiary role of registration.

5. Strengthened Identity Verification Mechanism

The Draft Bill proposes to replace the limited manual identity checks under the 1908 Act with a detailed, technology-driven system. Section 29 requires photographs, signatures, thumb impressions, prescribed identification documents or e-documents, PAN where applicable, and permits electronic signatures. Consent-based Aadhaar authentication, offline verification, and alternative digital identity checks are introduced, while ensuring that the absence of Aadhaar does not become a ground for refusal of registration.

1. Data Privacy and Security Concerns in Digital Registration Systems

While digitisation improves efficiency and accessibility, it also results in large volumes of sensitive personal and property data being stored and processed electronically. This significantly heightens the risk of data breaches, unauthorised access, and misuse. Data privacy must therefore be treated as a core concern rather than a peripheral safeguard. Strong legal protections, strict access controls, encryption standards, and secure backend infrastructure are essential at every stage of registration and inter-departmental data sharing.

2. Erosion of Purpose in the Registration of Equitable Mortgages

By making documents setting out the terms of a mortgage by deposit of title deeds compulsorily registrable under Section 12(h), the Draft Bill undermines the primary advantage of equitable mortgages, which traditionally involved a reduced / limited stamp duty vis-à-vis registered mortgage and not requiring registration. This effectively places them on the same footing as simple mortgages.

Although Section 14(3) permits banks and financial institutions to file a copy of the title deeds, it remains unclear whether related documents such as memoranda or sanction letters are also required to be registered. This ambiguity may lead to inconsistent compliance and practical difficulties, indicating the need for clearer legislative guidance.

3. Ambiguity in Optional Registration and Implementation Challenges

Section 13 permits registration of documents not falling under the category of documents, which required compulsory registration, but does not clarify the purpose or legal consequences of such optional registration. While flexibility is desirable, the absence of clear standards may cause uncertainty. Moreover, the effectiveness of optional and online registration depends on the availability of uniform digital infrastructure across States, in absence whereof implementation will be uneven and inconsistent and fraught with risks / doubts about data security and privacy concerns.

4. Lack of Uniformity in Stamp Duty

The expansion of compulsory registration for additional instruments raises the issue of lack of uniformity / homogeneity of stamp duty across the nation, stamp duty and registration fee being under the legislative domain of State Governments. To address the same, consensus building exercises involving widespread consultations with various State Governments should be carried out to evolve a uniform stamp duty and registration fee structure all across the country, failing which the entire purpose of reforms in registration will remain incomplete.

The Registration Bill, 2025 represents a significant move towards modernising India's registration framework. However, its success will depend on addressing legal ambiguities, ensuring strong data protection safeguards, and building uniform digital capacity across States. Building consensus to bring about a uniform and homogeneous stamp duty and registration fee framework will go a long way in achieving the true intent and purpose of this long overdue and laudable reform.

Authors:

Angad Varma, Partner at Dua Associates

Bhaskar Mishra, Counsel at Dua Associates.

Views are personal.