Sale Deed Cannot Be Unilaterally Cancelled: Kerala High Court Reiterates

The Kerala High Court has reiterated that there cannot be unilateral cancellation of a sale deed.Justice Gopinath P. relying upon the Supreme Court's decision in Satya Pal Anand v. State of M.P (2016) and the high court's decision in Noble John v State of Kerala (2010) held thus:“Thus it is clear that there cannot be a unilateral cancellation of Ext.P.1 Sale Deed.Accordingly, on the ratio of the decisions referred to above, the writ petition is allowed by directing the 5th respondent (Sub Registrar) to register the original of Ext.P5, in accordance with the law, uninfluenced in any manner by Ext.P7 and in compliance with all other legal formalities”The petitioner claimed to be the absolute owner in possession of 17 acres of land which he purchased in 1987 through a registered sale deed. He further asserted that he possesses a possession certificate, tax receipts, and other relevant documents to establish his ownership of the property. In 2022, the petitioner attempted to sell the property by executing another sale deed, but he was unable to register the sale deed. He was informed that the individual from whom he had purchased the land in 1987 had unilaterally cancelled the sale deed by executing a cancellation deed. Aggrieved by this unilateral action, the petitioner has now approached the High Court challenging the cancellation deed. The petitioner referred to Satya Pal Anand (supra) to state that there cannot be unilateral cancellation of the sale deed without giving notice to him. He further stated that he has been in continuous possession and enjoyment of the land since 1987 and was not unaware of any cancellation of the sale deed. The Court suo moto impleaded the person who sold the land to the petitioner in 1987 but found that he was no more and hence deleted him from the array of parties. It thus said, “Though under normal circumstances, the legal heirs of the additional 6th respondent ought to have been impleaded, I am of the opinion that such a course of action need not be adopted in the facts of this case as it is clear that only the impediment in registering the sale deed executed by the petitioner is stated to be unilateral cancellation executed by the additional 6th respondent, which for reasons to be indicated, cannot be sustained.”The Court thus stated that the sale deed can be registered without getting influenced by the unilateral cancellation deed. As such, the writ petition was allowed. Counsel for Petitioner: Advocates Arun Mathew Vadakkan, Padayattee YeldoCounsel for Respondents: Senior Government Pleader Thushara JamesCase Number: WP(C) NO. 1864 OF 2023Case Title: Ammini v State of Kerala Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 42Click here to Read/Download Order

Sale Deed Cannot Be Unilaterally Cancelled: Kerala High Court Reiterates

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