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The Orissa High Court has ruled that a co-owner of a property can sell their undivided share without requiring consent from other co-owners. The order came after a sub-registrar in Bhubaneswar declined to register such a deed. Justice Ananda Chandra Behera, in his judgment delivered on August 25, clarified that Section 44 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, gives each co-sharer the right to transfer their share independently. The court also directed that registration officials must provide written reasons for any refusal, highlighting the need for accountability in land registration practices.
The Orissa High Court has held that co-owners in the state can sell their undivided share in a joint property without obtaining permission from other co-sharers. The ruling was delivered by Justice Ananda Chandra Behera in Bhubaneswar while hearing a petition against a sub-registrar's refusal to register a deed of such a transaction. Advertisement
The court observed that Section 44 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, grants every co-owner the legal right to independently transfer their portion of ownership. In this case, the sub-registrar was directed to register the deed and return it to the petitioner within three working days.
Justice Behera also instructed registration officers to avoid oral refusals. Under the Indian Registration Act, 1908, and the Odisha Registration Rules, any denial of a deed must be supported with written reasons. This direction was aimed at bringing greater transparency to the functioning of registration offices, where arbitrary delays and procedural lapses have often been reported.
The ruling builds on earlier judgments from the High Court which had confirmed that the right to sell applies only to an undivided share and not to a physical portion of the property, unless a legal partition is completed. In a case heard last year from Cuttack district, the court had reiterated the same principle while deciding a dispute over ancestral property.
At the same time, the court has consistently applied stricter safeguards for land owned by members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In such cases, sales of undivided shares without consent and partition have been considered invalid, especially when the transfer is made to persons outside the community. These restrictions were designed to prevent distress sales and exploitation.
The latest order is seen as significant for property transactions in Odisha, where large numbers of families continue to hold land in joint ownership. Also clarifying the rights of co-owners to sell their undivided shares may help reduce disputes and bring clarity to property dealings in the state.
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