Pune: The state government has tasked the sub-registrars with revenue collection, and they do not have any legal authority to verify property ownership.

However, sub-registrars have been refusing to register documents under the pretext of ownership verification, while on the other hand, allegedly accepting bribes to register such documents. This has allegedly resulted in fraudulent activities amounting to crores of rupees, according to lawyers.

Advocates S.K. Goyal, Balasaheb Thopte, and Raghuveer Gaikwad brought this issue to the attention of District Deputy Registrar and Registration Officer Dharmadev Mainkar.

They cited a judgment by the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court, which declared the circular issued by IGR Maharashtra on July 12, 2021, as illegal.

The court ordered that no document should be refused and that every document should be accepted, the appropriate stamp duty should be collected as per the ready reckoner, and the legal process for registration should be completed.

Despite the IGR's appeal in the Supreme Court, there is no stay on this order. However, sub-registrar offices are refusing document registration by citing the pending Supreme Court case, while allegedly accepting bribes for registering these documents.

Lawyers have accused the sub-registrar offices of corruption, stating that documents rejected for various reasons at one office are being registered at another office upon payment.

Advocate Balasaheb Thopte pointed out that sub-registrar offices have become hotbeds of corruption and stressed the need for action against corrupt officials.

According to Mangesh Khamkar, an administrative officer in the Registration and Stamps Department, Pune, sub-registrar offices do not have the authority to verify ownership rights.

Currently, document registration is done online, and the seller's name is obtained by entering the property owner's account number. Such entries are mandated by the district collector, ensuring all documents with an account number are registered.

This ongoing issue highlights the need for stringent measures to tackle corruption within the sub-registrar offices and ensure a transparent document registration process.