The Ministry of Law and Justice (MoLJ) on February 20, 2026, issued the Lakshadweep (Registration Amendment) Regulation, 2026 to further amend the Registration Act, 1908.
This amendment is issued with a view to modernise and digitise the document registration framework; to enhance the legal certainty and public notice of property rights; to curb fraudulent practices and improve accountability through regulation of document writers; to facilitate the smooth conduct of real estate and civil transactions in line with the economic development goals; and to empower the administration to regulate registration activity, in the Union territory of Lakshadweep.
The following amendments have been stated:
• In section 20 of the principal Act, in sub-section (1), after the words “persons executing the document”, the words “and in the case of a document for sale of property, the persons claiming under that document also” shall be inserted.
After section 22 of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:––
“22A. (1) The registering officer may refuse the registration of a document on the following grounds:—
(a) the document is submitted without a true translation in a language commonly understood in the district of the registering officer;
(b) any interlineation, blank, erasure or alteration appears in the document, unless attested with the signature or initial of such person executing the document;
(c) non-testamentary document, as specified, is presented without sufficient description to identify the property that is the subject of registration as specified under section 21;
(d) document, not being a will, is presented for registration later than four months after the date of execution, under section 23, subject to sections 24, 25 and 26;
(e) the person by whom the document is purported to be executed—
(i) denies the execution of the document;
(ii) is a minor;
(iii) appears to the registering officer to be a person with mental incapacity; or
(iv) is dead and such person’s representative or assign denies execution;
(f) the document relates to transfer of property by way of agreement to sale, sale, gift, exchange or lease or otherwise in respect of any immovable property owned by the Central Government or Union territory or any authority or undertaking of the Central Government or Union territory or any authority or undertaking constituted or established under any Central Act or any other Regulation for the time being in force, unless such document is accompanied by a no-objection certificate issued by the competent authority;
(g) the document relates to transfer of property by way of agreement to sale, sale, gift, exchange or permanent alienation or lease or otherwise pertaining to any immovable property which is attached permanently or provisionally by any competent authority under any Central Act or any other Regulation for the time being in force or any court or tribunal or authority, upon the production of order of such attachment;
(h) the approval of the Central Government or Union territory or any authority or undertaking of the Central Government or Union territory or any authority or undertaking constituted or established under any Central Act or any other Regulation is required under any law for the time being in force, before entering into any transactions in connection with such immovable property, unless such document is accompanied by an approval (by whatever name called) issued by the competent authority;
(i) the appropriate registration fee under this Act has not been paid;
(j) the registering officer finds that the document has not been executed by the person by whom it is purported to have been executed based on information accessed and examined; (k) the registering officer finds that he is not satisfied about the identity of the persons appearing before him and alleging to have executed the document; or
(l) any other ground on which registration may be refused by the registering officer under this Act.
(2) The power under this section must not be construed as empowering the registering officer to adjudicate upon questions of title or ownership of property, which are within the jurisdiction of any competent court or other authority under any other law for the time being in force: Provided that such a decision of refusal shall apply to documents executed from the date of promulgation of this Regulation.
(3) Reasons for refusal to register to be recorded as specified under section 71.”.
• After section 34 of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:—
“34A. Subject to the provisions of this Regulation, no document for sale of property shall be registered under this Regulation, unless the person claiming under the document has also signed such document.”.
• In section 53 of the principal Act, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:––
“Provided that where the Book is in electronic form, all entries and numbers in that Book and the Book maintained manually shall be identical.”.
• In section 62 of the principal Act, for sub-section (1), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:––
“(1) When a document is presented for registration under section 19, the translation together with the true copy of the document, shall be filed in the appropriate Book.”
• In section 69 of the principal Act, in sub-section (1), after clause (b), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:––
“(bb) providing for the grant of licences to document-writers and apprentices to document-writer, the suspension and cancellation of such licences, the terms and conditions under which licences may be granted and generally for all other purposes connected with the writing of documents to be presented for registration;”.
[Notification No. 2 of 2026]
