In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's writ jurisdiction to invalidate a property sale deed registration where the registering officer failed to verify that the power of attorney agent had authority to sell the property. The court distinguished between: (1) challenging a document's execution (which requires a civil suit) and (2) challenging the registering officer's failure to perform statutory duties (which may be addressed via writ petition). Although the agent's power of attorney expressly prohibited encumbering the property, the registering officer registered the sale without verifying this limitation. The Court held that registering officers, while unable to adjudicate title disputes, must strictly comply with statutory requirements and verify an agent's authority. The Court rejected relegating the appellant to civil court, as the challenge was solely to the registering officer's statutory breach, not to the document's validity.
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