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Supreme Court of India 2025-11-19 dismissed

Rajeswari & Ors vs Shanmugam & Anr. …

Bench: 2 — J.B. Pardiwala, K.V. Viswanathan

In Brief

A property dispute arose from a 1993 specific performance decree in favour of the original decree-holder (judgment-debtor's predecessor). In 1995, the decree was assigned to the respondent for ₹20,000. When the assignee sought execution, the heirs challenged the unregistered assignment deed as unenforceable under the Registration Act. The trial court agreed; the High Court reversed, holding registration unnecessary. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court: a decree for specific performance merely confirms the right to enforce a contract—it does not create or transfer ownership. Only the executed sale deed transfers title. Therefore, assigning such a decree transfers enforcement rights only, not property interests, and registration under Section 17(1)(e) does not apply. Appeal dismissed.

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Registration of Documents Specific Performance Immovable Property Indian Registration Act Transfer of Property Decrees and Execution Civil Procedure

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