New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday asked the Law Commission to explore using blockchain technology for making the country’s land records transparent, tamper-proof and easily accessible, in a first-of-its-kind ruling that can fundamentally reform the nation’s land registration process.
In the forward-looking judgment, the court turned a routine case on property registration in Bihar into a broader examination of the country’s outdated and convoluted real estate system. It expressed deep concern over the “traumatic” experience of buying and selling property.
The judgment arose from a challenge to amendments made by the Bihar government to the Registration Rules, 2008, which effectively made property registration conditional upon land mutation. The court used this case not only to strike down the restrictive Bihar provisions but also to highlight how such “arbitrary” state-level measures reflect deeper “structural” flaws in India’s land administration system.
“Property disputes, in fact, constitute nearly sixty six percent of all civil litigation,” it noted.
A bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked why the sale and purchase of property in India remained so complex and unreliable. “Courts must balance the freedom to buy and sell property with the Governmental duty to ensure integrity in transactions,” the judges observed, adding that “the measure adopted by the State has unduly restricted the freedom to sell property.”
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A ‘traumatic’ process
The court noted that property ownership and transfer in India are still governed by colonial-era statutes such as the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, and the Registration Act, 1908—laws that rely on document registration rather than title registration.
This system, the bench said, “sustains a problematic dichotomy between registration and ownership”. Registration under the 1908 Act provides only presumptive ownership, which can be challenged in court, placing a “substantial burden” on the buyer to verify title ownership histories manually. The court termed the process “distressing”.
Freedom to sell under strain in Bihar
The Supreme Court struck down sub-rules (xvii) and (xviii) of Rule 19 of the Bihar Registration Rules, 2008, which empowered registering authorities to refuse registration of sale or gift deeds unless the seller produced proof of mutation (Jamabandi or holding allotment) in their name. For rural properties, sub-rule (xvii) required mentioning the Jamabandi number, while sub-rule (xviii) demanded the holding allotment number for urban flats or apartments—except in first transfers.
These sub-rules were challenged unsuccessfully before the Patna High Court.
The SC found that these sub-rules, by making mutation proof a “precondition for registration”, tied the registration process to revenue functions. Unlike earlier clauses of Rule 19, which dealt with procedural aspects like identity verification and fee payment, these amendments ventured into proof of title, a matter outside the “scope of registration authorities”. The bench reaffirmed that mutation does not create title, and requiring such proof was both arbitrary and legally untenable.
Explaining section 69 of the Registration Act, 1908, the court held that the Inspector General had no power to frame rules demanding mutation records, noting, “there is nothing in Section 69 that would enable the Inspector General to make rules requiring proof of mutation in favour of the vendor as a condition precedent for registration.”
Crucially, the court determined that the measure “unduly restricted the freedom to sell property”.
The court observed this restriction was illegal because the necessary administrative processes (mutation, survey, and settlement under the Bihar Land Mutation Act, 2011) were “nowhere near implementation”, meaning the rule was arbitrary and virtually impossible for most property owners to comply with, given that 80 percent of jamabandis (official record of land ownership and revenue) were still in the names of dead ancestors.
The restriction therefore “impinge[d] the right to hold and dispose of property”, the court held.
In conclusion, the Bench declared the sub-rules “arbitrary and restrictive”. The court also concluded that the said sub-rules “tilt the balance and empower the registering authorities to produce collateral evidence of title to the property as a pre-condition for registration, such a measure, through subordinate legislation, is also against the purpose and object of the Act”.
While acknowledging the state’s intention to align registration with real-time land holdings, the court noted that “the process of mutation and the process of survey and settlement are nowhere near completion”.
The court reaffirmed that the right to own and dispose of property is intrinsic to individual liberty, and any restriction “that impedes or restrains easy and effective transfer of property” amounts to deprivation of that right.
Blockchain: The road to conclusive titles
Turning to solutions, the Supreme Court envisioned a future where Blockchain technology anchors India’s property records—offering “immutability, transparency, and traceability”.
Blockchain, the judgment explained, can record land titles, ownership histories, and transfers on a distributed digital ledger, ensuring each entry is secure and time-stamped.
“Fortunately, due to technological advancement this process is duly and more accurately achievable,” the court noted, adding that blockchain’s cryptographic features could “address the structural fragility of Indian record-keeping systems.”
The technology, the judges said, could merge cadastral maps (detailed representations of land parcels that provide comprehensive insights into property boundaries, land ownership details), survey data, and revenue records into one verifiable, public framework—while maintaining a transparent audit trail accessible to multiple departments and citizens.
Recognising that a blockchain-based registration regime would require major legal and administrative restructuring, the Supreme Court directed the Government of India to spearhead the effort and asked the Law Commission to examine the matter in consultation with states and technology experts.
The commission’s study, the court said, must also consider reforms to key laws including the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, Registration Act, 1908, Stamp Act, 1899, Evidence Act, 1872, Information Technology Act, 2000, and Data Protection Act, 2023.
Ultimately, the court’s message was clear: India must move from a “presumptive” title system to a “conclusive” title system, where the state guarantees ownership and registration serves as definitive proof.
“The time has come,” the bench observed, “to move towards a system in which the sale and purchase of immovable property becomes simpler, and registration serves as a conclusive proof of ownership guaranteed by the State.”
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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