To prevent the registration of fake documents and fraudulent property transactions, the Tamil Nadu Registration Department has introduced a new rule mandating the affixation of a scanned copy of the document writer’s or the advocate’s photograph on the last page of the document.
The document writer/advocate has to enter his/her licence/registration number on the document, certifying that the draft has been duly verified. The move will also avert touts posing as document writers or advocates, offering to assist people in the process of registration.
In the existing system, the photo of the buyer and seller was captured by a software, and they also had to affix their left thumb impressions, besides submitting their original proofs of identity and address at the Sub Registrar Office. The signature, along with the address proofs of the two witnesses, was obtained.
Fake entries
However, despite these measures, several irregularities in the registration of documents have continued, such as impersonation, sale of the same property to multiple persons, registration after cancellation of power of attorney by fraudulent means, registration of fake documents to create false entries in the encumbrance certificate and the sale of properties despite attachment by banks under the SARFAESI Act by suppressing the facts, among others.
According to Section 2(d) of the Tamil Nadu Document Writers’ Licence Rules, 1982, a document writer should verify and ascertain the ownership of a property before preparing the draft of the document. Similar norms apply for the advocates too. Such document writers/advocates enter their name and signature in the document. However, it came to light that in fake documents, the signatures of such document writers or advocates were found to be of fictitious persons.
After conducting a series of review meetings in districts across Tamil Nadu, the Minister for Commercial Taxes, Registration and Stamp Law, P. Moorthy, instructed officials that a scanned photo of the document writer or the advocate, along with their licence/registration details, should be compulsorily made part of the registered documents. This is part of a few other steps taken by the Minister to prevent the registration of fake documents.
“Now there will be a bigger responsibility on the part of the document writer/advocate preparing or certifying drafts of property registrations, since their professional competency and credibility is involved. Another advantage is that the menace of touts preparing drafts and fleecing people posing as document writers or advocates, will end, since they cannot make formal entries in documents now,” a spokesperson of the Tamil Nadu Registration Department Officials’ Association said.
