SHC hears property registration case

Court orders devising mechanism to link property documentation with NADRA

HYDERABAD:

The regime of alleged corruption and delaying tactics during the property registration processes has been challenged in the Sindh High Court (SHC).

The Hyderabad circuit bench on Thursday ordered the Inspector General of Registration to submit a mechanism of property registration which should be connected with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

The Sindh government through the Chief Secretary, Sindh Secretary Revenue, Senior Member Board of Revenue and the IG Registration have been put on notice for February 23. The court also directed the IG Registration to implement earliers orders of the same court dated July 23, 2021, and September 3, 2021, over the same matter.

The petitioner, Noor Muhammad Memon, pleaded before the court that it should also order implementation of the December 3, 2019, circular of the Board of Revenue (BoR) which set the process and timeline for different processes.

As per the circular, the transfer of property ownership to the heirs of a deceased person is supposed to be completed in 17 days. The office of Mukhtiarkar revenue department is given seven days for the issuance of receipt after verifying the record, holding the assembly and allowing the mutation.

The assistant commissioner has to verify the same entry in three days. Two days each have been kept for dispatching the entry's copy to the Provincial Record Cell (PRC), technical verification and data scanning by the PRC and return of the same entry from the PRC to Mukhtiarkar office. On the 17th day the applicants are supposed to be provided the certified copy of the property ownership.

Likewise, seven days have been given to the revenue officials for the issuance of the sales certificate, which is a mandatory document for the property registration. The Sub-Registrar of the properties was also given seven days for the registered transaction of properties. "Unfortunately, all these processes take several months to complete," the petitioner maintained.

Memon prayed the court to order the establishment of NADRA's biometric verification offices at the Property Sub-Registrar Offices. He further pleaded that the concerned departments should take biometric thumb impressions and photographs at the time of property registration in compliance with the Supreme Court of Pakistan's order.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2022.