INTRODUCTION
Recently, the central government introduced a draft of new laws related to registration of land as ‘the registration bill 2025’, which will align with a modern online and paperless approach. The Bill shall replace the pre-Constitutional Registration Act, 1908[1]. It provides a legal basis for the registration of documents of immovable property and other transactions. It introduced several new provisions, including compulsory registration of sale deeds, leases of immovable property, and any instrument of partition made by a revenue officer, among others.
However, this has become a legal and political controversy. The heart of the issue lies in constitutional concerns over this, and these amendments are raising questions about federalism.
Over time, tensions between central and state governance have increased over jurisdiction and administrative boundaries. While the Centre represents the bill as a transformation in the legal system to reduce fraud and boost transparency, state governments have highlighted concerns over federalism and state autonomy.
KEY PROPOSAL OF THE BILL
The Department of Land Resources introduced a draft of the bill and opened it for public comment until 25 June 2025.
Here are some key points for the same
- Facilitating Online Registration: The [2]Bill introduces provisions to support online registration, including the electronic submission and acceptance of documents, issuance of electronic registration certificates, and digital record-keeping.
- Expanding the Scope of Compulsory Registration:
The[3] Bill expands the list of documents requiring compulsory registration. These include agreements to sell, powers of attorney, sale certificates issued by competent authorities, equitable mortgage arrangements, and certain instruments based on court orders.
- Citizen-Centric Processes: The Bill promotes plain language drafting and transparent procedures to make the registration process more accessible for individual citizens and small businesses.
- Transparency: Certain documents, like wills, gift deeds, and powers of attorney, will be available for public scrutiny to improve transparency.
- Centralisation of registrations: This draft provides a uniform platform to register your property from anywhere in the country, and it helps others to go through common procedures.
- Aadhar card: Under this draft, Aadhar card is not compulsory for registrations; people can use their emails.
- Digital documentation: under the current law, documents are required to be submitted to the registration office, but no longer needed to visit any office under this bill. It provides that a person presenting any document for registration may affix physical signatures, electronic signatures under the Information Technology Act, 2000[4], or such other forms of signatures (whether physical or digital) as may be prescribed.
- Land frauds: This bill can help in avoiding land fraud by digital authentication and prevent fraudulent deals, duplication of documents, and impersonation.
CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL DIMENSIONS
- Federalism: It is a system of governance in which powers are divided into the Centre and state, and it is reflected in the seventh schedule of the Indian Constitution, which covers the state list, union list, and concurrent list [article 226].
Entry “18. Land, that is to say, rights in or over land, land tenures including the relation of landlord and tenant, and the collection of rents; transfer and alienation of agricultural land; land improvement and agricultural loans; colonisation.”[5]
Entry 6 of the concurrent list states that both the union and the state can make laws on “Transfer of property other than agricultural land; registration of deeds and documents.”[6]
Article 254[7] gives primacy to the central law unless the state government has received the assent of the president.
Bill creates legal ambiguity and potential litigation, which could affect federal harmony.
Even before this bill, some states like Maharashtra, Telangana, and Karnataka have their digital registration system, but now this would create confusion.
- Financial autonomy of the state :
Imposing a cap on stamp duty and creating a central revenue model can violate the autonomy of the state government guaranteed under Article 265 of the Indian Constitution.
States earn a major portion of their revenue from stamp duty and registration fees on property transactions.
Telangana is strongly opposed to the proposal for reasonable registration charges and a uniform ceiling on fees, arguing that such a move infringes on the state’s fiscal autonomy and could significantly reduce its Rs 15000 crore annual revenue from stamp and registration[8].
This is seen by the state as interfering in their domains, which violates the spirit of cooperative federalism.
- Right to privacy
In K.S. Puttaswamy and others v. Union of India[9], the Supreme Court of India established the right to privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The issue of potential infringement of individual privacy through biometric and demographic data.
Under this bill, making sensitive property-related documents public may be challenging against the right to privacy.
OPERATIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE CONCERNS:
- Apart from the legal approach, it needs to look at the physical implications.
Even though it offers benefits like transparency and accountability, with efficiency.
- Implementing online land registration faces challenges, including the digital divide, technical issues, and cybersecurity Threats.
- The need for uniform standards across different regions is rising rapidly, and proper laws and implementation are needed.
- Online platforms are easy to attack by cyber technology and data breaches. Technical glitches in software, slow internet speeds, and outdated hardware can disturb the registration process.
Doctrine of repugnancy: central law and state law
Article 254 of the Indian constitution says that if any provision of a law made by parliament which is competent to an act and any provisions of the matter enumerate in concurrent list then the law is made by the parliament, whether passed before or after the law made by legislature of such state or, as the case may be, the existing law shall prevails and the law made by the legislature of the state shall, to the extent of the repugnancy, be void[10].
Repugnant means contradictory or inconsistent. This doctrine is commonly used when there is a contradiction between two things or laws. In our legal domain, this is highly used between the state and the central law to compare the laws.
Precedents highlighted some situations in which repugnancy could arise :
- There must be some clear and direct contradiction between the given laws
- When there is room for both governments to make laws on the issue, but they are making laws on different offences, no repugnancy arises.
- Although even the repugnancy survived, and the state makes the law given under the concurrent list, the state government could take assent from the president to enforce the law..s
CONCLUSION
The draft of ‘The Registration Bill 2025’ deals with the registration of immovable property and outskirt the old and outdated law. Its enforceability can make efficiency in legal areas and can fill the loopholes in the existing system of law.
If it is implemented effectively, it can reduce corruption, fraud and improve the speed of procedures with fairness and transparency, but on the other hand, its implementation must not be at the cost of constitutional values and structure.
Federalism falls under the basic structure of the Constitution, so it must not affect any idea of policymaking or law.
The approach of centralisation must not be subjected to state autonomy and federal structure; the key challenge is establishing efficiency with national integration. The legal innovation depends on the centre’s willingness to cooperate with states and the constitution, and the voice of citizens must be heard.
Ongoing discussion is not just about a law related to registration; it is the test of democratic structure and cooperative federalism relying on the Indian Constitution.
Author(s) Name: Sakshi (Guru Govind Singh Inderprastha University, New Delhi)
References:
[1] The Registration Bill, 2025
[2]Ibid
[3]Ibid 1
[4] The Registration Bill 2025, s 29(2)
[5] The Constitution Of India 1950,’Seventh Schedule’
[6] Ibid 12
[7] The Contitution Of India 1950
[8] Koride Mahesh, ‘Telangana Raises Alarm Over Centre’s Draft Registration Bill’ (Times Of India, 14 June 2025) https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/telangana-raises-alarm-over-centres-draft-registration-bill/articleshow/121854066.cms accessed 14 June 2025
[9] Justice K.S Puttaswamy (Retd) And Anr. VS Union Of India(2017)10 SCC 1
[10] J.N Pandey, The Constitutional Law Of India(10th edition ,1980) 338 https://archive.org/details/jn-pandey.-the-constitutional-law-of-india-edition-tenth/page/n395/mode/2up?view=theater
