Unregistered Sale Agreement Does Not Confer Title or Protection From Dispossession : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that an unregistered sale agreement does not confer valid title on the purchaser and cannot protect against dispossession.

The bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran ruled that, under the Registration Act, 1908, and Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act, only a registered deed of conveyance can transfer ownership of immovable property.

The Court set aside a Telangana High Court order that had restrained dispossession based on an unregistered 1982 sale agreement, holding such documents inadmissible for establishing title or ownership rights.

Any possession under an unregistered agreement lacks legal backing.