Can’t give power to registrar: Delhi High Court

New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Friday said the AAP government cannot give pow-er to a registrar through a circular to cancel registration of a document, when such a provision does not exist in the statute dealing with such transactions.

A bench of chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Just-ice V.K. Rao issued notice to the Delhi government and sought its response to a PIL by an NGO challenging a 2016 circular giving registrars the power to de-register or cancel a registered document in case of a fraud or false personation.

It also asked the government to provide details of the number of registered documents that have been cancelled since the circular came into effect in 2016 and listed the matter for further hearing  on Septe-mber 19.

The bench said the Supreme Court has alr-eady held that there was no power of cancellation of a registered document and the only rem-edy was to initiate criminal or civil proceedings. The high court said that a registrar can cause an enquiry to be held into the alleged fraud or false personation by lodging an FIR, with the consequences following thereafter.

“There is no express provision in the Registration Act to cancel a document. In view of the SC decision, you (Delhi government) cannot by a circular gi-ve the registrar the power to cancel (registration of) a document,” it said.