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A land ownership dispute that remained unresolved for nearly seven decades has finally been settled by the Supreme Court, with the apex court restoring the validity of a registered sale deed executed in 1957 and directing that the appellants' names be entered into the revenue records. The judgment, delivered by a bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria on June 23, 2026, overturns the decisions of the consolidation authorities and the High Court, which had earlier rejected the sale deed over discrepancies relating to an attesting witness.
The dispute originated from a sale deed executed on June 4, 1957, under which the appellants claimed ownership and possession of the agricultural land. During consolidation proceedings, however, the authorities refused to recognise the transaction, treating the document as unreliable because of inconsistencies in the recorded address of one of the attesting witnesses. The High Court later upheld this view, leaving the ownership dispute unresolved for decades.
Examining the case, the Supreme Court drew a clear distinction between void and voidable documents. It observed that while consolidation authorities may disregard documents that are inherently void, they do not have the jurisdiction to invalidate documents that are merely voidable. Such documents continue to remain legally effective unless cancelled by a competent civil court. The bench relied on earlier Supreme Court rulings to reiterate that consolidation authorities cannot assume the powers of a civil court in cancelling registered instruments.
The court also emphasised that a registered sale deed carries a strong legal presumption of validity and due execution. It noted that registration is a solemn legal act intended to provide certainty in property transactions, and that such documents cannot be discarded based on conjecture or minor inconsistencies. The burden to prove fraud, fabrication or invalid execution lies heavily on the party challenging the document and must be supported by clear and convincing evidence.
Addressing the specific discrepancy in the case, the bench held that the difference in the recorded village of the attesting witness was insignificant, especially since the witness's testimony was recorded nearly 38 years after the transaction. The witness consistently affirmed that he had witnessed the execution of the sale deed and that possession had been handed over. The respondents neither alleged forgery, coercion nor fraudulent execution of the document, nor were they able to undermine the witness's credibility during cross-examination.
The judgment further clarified that attestation is not a statutory requirement for the validity of a sale deed, unlike certain other legal instruments such as wills or gift deeds. Consequently, minor discrepancies relating to an attesting witness cannot, by themselves, invalidate an otherwise registered conveyance that enjoys statutory presumptions under the law.
Finding that the lower authorities had committed a legal error by treating the 1957 sale deed as void without any substantive evidence of fraud or forgery, the Supreme Court set aside the earlier orders. It allowed the civil appeal and directed that the appellants' names be recorded in the revenue records, finally bringing an end to a property dispute that had remained pending for almost 70 years.
Source SCI Gov
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