THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA WRIT PETITION No.1619 of 2011 ORDER: Feeling aggrieved by the inaction on the part of the registering authorities, namely Sub-Registrar, Kurnool and the District Registrar, Kurnool in entertaining the documents in respect of the house property of the petitioner bearing No.40/808/F5, Srinivasa Nagar, Kurnool, this writ petition is filed. The petitioner contends that though no notification under the provisions of the Wakf Act, 1995 was issued in respect of the land; the respondents are trying to apply the prohibition contained under Section 22-A of the Registration Act, 1908 (for short ‘the Act’). Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Government Pleader for Revenue. The role assigned to a registering authority under the provisions of the Act is very limited. It is not conferred with the power to adjudicate or verify the title in respect of the properties that are subject matter of the documents presented before it for registration. In the recent past, the A.P. State Legislature took certain steps to prohibit registration of the documents in respect of certain categories of land. Initially, Section 22-A of the Act was added prohibiting the registration of the lands that are notified in a Gazette issued under that provision. That Section was held to be ultra vires by this Court. This was followed by another amendment and new Section 22-A of the Act was incorporated. Certain categories of land mentioned in Clauses (a) to (e) of sub-section (1) of Section 22-A of the Act are kept in the prohibited category for the purpose of registration. The lands held by Wakf fall into one such categories. The registration of a document in relation to an item of property which falls into any of these categories can certainly be refused. So far as the properties held by the Wakf are concerned, the only source happens to be the notification issued under the Wakf Act, 1995. If a claim is made over and above the entries made in the Gazette Notification, the matter has to be left to the parties for adjudication and the prohibition does not apply. Conversely if the land is notified, the registering authority can certainly refuse registration. Any amount of correspondence by the authorities in this regard would not improve or otherwise alter the situation. Hence, the writ petition is disposed of, directing that (a) in case the property that is subject matter of the documents presented for registration before the Sub-Registrar is notified specifically under the Gazette, together with survey numbers and extent under the Wakf Act, 1995, the registering authority shall be entitled to refuse the registration by issuing an endorsement or communication to that effect; (b) if the property is not covered by such notification, the registering authority shall be under obligation to process the documents and admit the same for registration, if they are otherwise in order. There shall be no order as to costs. ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA ,J Dt:31.01.2011 lvl THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA WRIT PETITION No.1619 of 2011 Dt. 31.01.2011