1908

117 sections

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Registration Act, 1908

Sections117

LanguageEnglish

The Registration Act, 1908 governs the registration of documents in Bangladesh. It applies to all documents requiring or permitting registration, including instruments of gift, sale, mortgage, and lease of immoveable property, as well as wills and adoption deeds. The Act establishes the office of the Inspector General of Registration and District Registrars throughout the territory. Key mechanisms include the procedure for presenting documents for registration, the requirement for the executing party to appear before the Registrar, the examination of the parties to verify execution, the deposit of documents after registration, and the effects of non-registration -- an unregistered document required to be registered is not admissible in evidence of the transaction. Notable provisions include time limits for presentation set at four months from execution, the rule that registration relates back to the time of execution, the acceptance of electronic registration, and exemptions for government documents. The Act remains in force and is essential for property transactions.

Full text · showing key sections

§ 1Short title, extent and commencement

(1)This Act may be called the
Registration Act, 1908
.

(2)It extends to the whole of Bangladesh, except such districts or tracts of country as the Government may exclude from its operation.

(3)It shall come into force on the first day of January, 1909.

§ 2Definitions

In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,–

(1)“addition” means the place of residence, and the profession, trade, rank and title (if any) of a person described, and his father's name, or where he is usually described as the son of his mother, then his mother's name:

(2)“book” includes a portion of a book and also any number of sheets connected together with a view of forming a book or portion of a book:
1
[(2a) “co-operative society” means a co-operative society registered under the Co-operative Societies Act, 1912, or under any other law for the time being in force relating to the registration of co-operative societies.]

(3)“district” and “sub-district” respectively mean a district and sub-district formed under this Act:

(4)“District Court” includes the
2
[High Court Division] in its ordinary original civil jurisdiction:

(5)“endorsement” and “endorsed” include and apply to an entry in writing by a registering officer on a rider or covering slip to any document tendered for registration under this Act:

(6)“immoveable property” includes land, buildings, benefits to arise out of land and things attached to the earth, or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth, hereditary allowances, rights to ways, lights, ferries and fisheries but does not include–
(a) standing timber, growing crops or grass whether immediate severance thereof it intended or not;
(b) fruit upon and juice in trees whether in existence or to grow in future; and
(c) machinery embedded in or attached to the earth, when dealt with apart from the land:

(7)“lease” includes a counter-part, kabuliyat and an undertaking to cultivate or occupy:

(8)“minor” means a person who, according to the personal law to which he is subject, has not attained majority:

(9)“moveable property” means property of every description, except immoveable property:

(10)“representative” includes the guardian of a minor and the committee or other legal curator of a lunatic or idiot: and

(11)“tout' means a person–
(a) who habitually frequents the precincts of a registration office, without a licence granted to him under the rules made under section 80G, for the purpose of obtaining employment for himself or for any other person in connection with any registration business; or
(b) who is declared to be deemed to be a tout for the purposes of this Act by rules made under section 80G;

§ 3Inspector-General of Registration

(1)The Government shall appoint an officer to be the Inspector-General of Registration for
1
[Bangladesh]:

Provided thatthe Government may, instead of making such appointment, direct that all or any of the powers and duties hereinafter conferred and imposed upon the Inspector-General shall be exercised and performed by such officer or officers, and within such local limits, as the Government appoints in this behalf.

(2)Any Inspector-General may hold simultaneously any other office in the service of the
2
[Republic].

§ 4[Repealed]

[Repealed by the Government of India (Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937.]

§ 5Districts and sub-districts

(1)For the purposes of this Act, the Government shall form districts and sub-districts, and shall prescribe, and may alter, the limits of such districts and sub-districts.

(2)The districts and sub-districts formed under this section, together with the limits thereof, and every alteration of such limits shall be notified in the official Gazette.

(3)Every such alteration shall take effect on such day after the date of the notification as is therein mentioned.

§ 6Registrars and Sub-Registrars

The Government may appoint such persons, whether public officers or not, as it thinks proper, to be Registrars of the several districts, and to be Sub-Registrars of the several sub-districts, formed as aforesaid, respectively.

§ 7Offices of Registrar and Sub-Registrar

(1)Government shall establish in every district an office to be styled the office of the Registrar and in every sub-district an office or offices to be styled the office of the Sub-Registrar or the offices of the Joint Sub-Registrars.

(2)The Government may amalgamate with any office of a Registrar any office of a Sub-Registrar subordinate to such Registrar, and may authorize any Sub-Registrar whose office has been so amalgamated to exercise and perform, in addition to his own powers and duties, all or any of the powers and duties of the Registrar to whom he is subordinate:

Provided thatno such authorization shall enable a Sub-Registrar to hear an appeal against an order passed by himself under this Act.

§ 8Inspectors of Registration-offices

(1)The Government may also appoint officers, to be called inspectors of Registration-offices, and may prescribe the duties of such officers.

(2)Every such Inspector shall be subordinate to the Inspector-General.

§ 9[Repealed]

[Repealed by section 3 and 2nd Schedule of the Repealing and Amending Act, 1927 (Act No. X of 1927).]

§ 10Absence of Registrar or vacancy in his office

(1)When any Registrar, is absent otherwise than on duty in his district, or when his office is temporarily vacant, any person whom the Inspector-General appoints in this behalf, or, in default of such appointment, the Judge of the District Court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the Registrar's office is situate, shall be the Registrar during such absence or until the Government fills up the vacancy.

(2)[Omitted by the Adaptation of Central Acts and Ordinance Order, 1949.]

§ 11Absence of Registrar on duty in his district

When any Registrar is absent from his office on duty in his district, he may appoint any Sub-Registrar or other person in his district to perform, during such absence, all the duties of a Registrar except those mentioned in sections 68 and 72.

§ 12Absence of Sub-Registrar or vacancy in his office

When any Sub-Registrar is absent, or when his office is temporarily vacant, any person whom the Registrar of the district appoints in this behalf shall be Sub-Registrar during such absence, or until the vacancy is filled up.

§ 13Report to Government of appointments under sections 10, 11 and 12

(1)All appointments made under section 10, section 11 or section 12 shall be reported to the Government by the Inspector-General.

(2)Such report shall be either special or general, as the Government directs.

§ 14Establishments of registering officers

(1)[Omitted by the Government of India (Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937.]

(2)The Government may allow proper establishments for the several offices under this Act.

§ 15Seal of registering officers

The several Registrars and Sub-Registrars shall use a seal bearing the following inscription in English and
1
[Bengali]:-
“The seal of the Registrar (or of the Sub-Registrar)
of .”

§ 16Register-books and fire-proof boxes

(1)The Government shall provide for the office of every registering officer the books necessary for the purposes of this Act.

(2)The books so provided shall contain the forms from time to time prescribed by the Inspector-General with the sanction of the Government, and the pages of such books shall be consecutively numbered in print, and the number of pages in each book shall be certified on the title-page by the officer by whom such books are issued.

(3)The Government shall supply the office of every Registrar with a fire-proof box, and shall in each district make suitable provision for the safe custody of the records connected with the registration of documents in such district.

§ 17Documents of which registration is compulsory

(1)The following documents shall be registered, if the property to which they relate is situate in a district in which, and if they have been executed on or after the date on which,
1
[* * *] this Act came or comes into force, namely:-
(a) instruments of gift of immoveable property;
2
[(aa) declaration of heba under the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat);]
3
[(aaa) declaration of gift under the Hindu, Christian and Buddhist Personal Law;]
(b) other non-testamentary instruments which purport or operate to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent,
4
[* * *] to or in immoveable property;

Explanation− In the case of an assignment of a mortgage the consideration for the deed of assignment shall be deemed to be the value for registration.
(c) Non-testamentary instruments (other than the acknowledge-ment of a receipt or payment made in respect of any transaction to which an instrument registered under clause (o) relates) which acknowledge the receipt or payment of any consideration on account of the creation, declaration, assignment, limitation or extinction of any such right, title or interest; and
5
[(cc) instrument of mortgage referred to in section 59 of the
Transfer of Property Act, 1882
;]
(d) leases of immoveable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent;
(e) non-testamentary instruments transferring or assigning any decree or order of a Court or any award when such decree or order or award purports or operates to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent,
6
[* * *] to or in immoveable property;
7
[(f) instrument of partition of immovable property effected by persons upon inheritance according to their respective personal laws;
(g) instrument of sale in pursuance of an order of the Court under section 96 of the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act, 1950]:

Provided thatthe Government may, by order published in the official Gazette, exempt from the operation of this sub-section any leases executed in any district, or part of a district, the terms granted by which do not exceed five years and the annual rents reserved by which do not exceed fifty taka.

(2)Nothing in clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) applies to-
(i) any composition deed; or
(ii) any instrument relating to shares in a Joint Stock Company, notwithstanding that the assets of such Company consist in whole or in part of immoveable property; or
(iii) any debenture issued by any such Company and not creating, declaring, assigning, limiting or extinguishing any right, title or interest, to or in immoveable property except in so far as it entitles the holder to the security afforded by a registered instrument whereby the Company has mortgaged, conveyed or otherwise transferred the whole or part of its immoveable property or any interest therein to trustees upon trust for the benefit of the holders of such debentures; or
(iv) any endorsement upon or transfer of any debenture issued by any such Company; or
(v) any document not itself creating, declaring, assigning, limiting or extinguishing any right, title or interest
8
[* * *] to or in immoveable property, but merely creating a right to obtain another document which will, when executed, create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish any such right, title or interest; or
(vi) any decree or order of a Court except a decree or order expressed to be made on a compromise and comprising immoveable property other than that which is the subject-matter of the suit or proceeding; or
(vii) any grant of immoveable property by the Government; or
(viii) any instrument of partition made by a Revenue-officer; or
(ix) any order granting a loan or instrument of collateral security granted under the Land Improvement Act, 1871, or the
Land Improvement Loans Act, 1883
; or
(x) any order granting a loan under the
Agriculturists' Loans Act, 1884
, the
Bangladesh Krishi Bank Order, 1973
or under any other law for the time being in force relating to the advancement of loans for agricultural purposes, or any instrument under which a loan is granted by a co-operative society for any such purpose, or any instrument made for securing the repayment of a loan so granted; or
(xi) any endorsement on a mortgage-deed acknowledging the payment of the whole or any part of the mortgage-money, and any other receipt for payment of money due under a mortgage; or
(xii) any certificate of sale granted to the purchaser of any property sold by public auction by a Civil or Revenue-officer; or
(xiii)any counter-part of a lease, where the lease corresponding thereto has itself been registered.
9
[* * *]

(3)Authorities to adopt a son, executed after the first day of January 1872, and not conferred by a will, shall also be registered.

§ 17ARegistration of contract for sale, etc.

1
[17A. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act or any other law for the time being in force, a contract for sale of any immovable property shall be in writing, executed by the parties thereto and registered.

(2)A contract for sale referred to in sub-section (1) shall be presented for registration within
2
[sixty] days from the date of execution of the contract and the provisions regarding registration of instruments shall apply.

§ 17BEffect of unregistered contract for sale executed prior to section 17A becomes effective

(1)Where a contract for sale of immovable property is executed but not registered prior to coming into force of section 17A-
(a) the parties to the contract shall, within six months from the date of coming into force of that section,-
(i) present the instrument of sale of immovable property under the contract for registration, or
(ii) present the contract for sale itself for registration; or,
(b) either of the parties, if aggrieved for non compliance with any of the provisions mentioned in clause (a), shall, notwithstanding anything contained to the contrary in any law for the time being in force as to the law of Limitation, institute a suit for specific performance or recession of the contract within six months next after the expiry of the period mentioned in clause (a),
failing which the contract shall stand void.

(2)The provision of sub-section (1) shall not apply to any contract for sale of immovable property on the basis of which a suit has been instituted in a civil court before coming into force of section 17A.]

§ 18Documents of which registration is optional

Any document not required to be registered under section 17 may also be registered under this Act.

§ 19Documents in language not understood by registering officer

If any document duly presented for registration be in a language which the registering officer does not understand, and which is not commonly used in the district, he shall refuse to register the document, unless it be accompanied by a true translation into a language commonly used in the district and also by a true copy.

§ 20Documents containing interlineations, blanks erasures or alterations

(1)The registering officer may in his discretion refuse to accept for registration any document in which any interlineations, blank, erasure or alteration appears, unless the persons executing the document attest with their signatures or initials such interlineations, blank, erasure or alteration.

(2)If the registering officer registers any such document, he shall, at the time of registering the same, make a note in the register of such interlineation, blank, erasure or alteration.

§ 21Description of property and maps or plans

(1)No non-testamentary document relating to immoveable property shall be accepted for registration unless it contains a description of such property sufficient to identify the same.

(2)Houses in towns shall be described as situate on the north or other side of the street or road (which should be specified) to which they front, and by their existing and former occupancies, and by their numbers if the houses in such street or road are numbered.

(3)Other houses and lands shall be described by their name, if any, and as being in the territorial division in which they are situate, and by their superficial contents, the roads and other properties on which they abut, and their existing occupancies, and also, whenever it is practicable, by reference to a Government map or survey.

(4)No non-testamentary document containing a map or plan of any property comprised therein shall be accepted for registration unless it is accompanied by a true copy of the map or plan, or, in case such property is situate in several districts, by such number of true copies of the map or plan as are equal to the number of such districts.

§ 22Description of houses and land by reference to Government maps or surveys

(1)Where it is, in the opinion of the Government, practicable to describe houses, not being houses in towns, and lands by reference to a Government map or survey, the Government may, by rule made under this Act, require that such houses and lands as aforesaid shall, for the purposes of section 21, be so described.

(2)Save as otherwise provided by any rule made under subsection (1), failure to comply with the provisions of section 21, sub-section (2) or sub-section (3), shall not disentitle a document to be registered if the description of the property to which it relates is sufficient to identify that property.

§ 22AInstrument of transfer

1
[22A. (1) Every instrument of transfer required to be compulsorily registered under this Act shall contain the particulars necessary to convey the intention of the parties, complete description of the properties to be transferred and nature of the transaction.

(2)Photographs of both the executant and the recipient shall be pasted on every instrument and the parties shall sign and put their left thumb impressions across their photographs in the instrument
2
[:

Provided thatif any party is incapable of signing, he shall not be required to sign.]

(3)The government shall, within three months of coming into force of the Registration (Amendment) Act, 2004 by notification in the official Gazette, prescribe a format for the purposes of this section.]

§ 23Time for presenting documents

Subject to the provisions contained in sections 24, 25 and 26, no document other than a will shall be accepted for registration unless presented for that purpose to the proper officer within
1
[three months] from the date of its execution:

Provided thata copy of a decree or order may be presented within
2
[three months] from the day on which the decree or order was made, or, where it is appealable, within
3
[three months] from the day on which it becomes final.

§ 23ARe-registration of certain documents

1
[23A. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act, if in any case a document requiring registration has been accepted for registration by a Registrar or Sub-Registrar from a person not duly empowered to present the same, and has been registered, any person claiming under such document may, within four months from this first becoming aware that the registration of such document is invalid, present such document or cause the same to be presented, in accordance with the provisions of Part VI for re-registration in the office of the Registrar of the district in which the document was originally registered; and upon the Registrar being satisfied that the document was so accepted for registration from a person not duly empowered to present the same, he shall proceed to the re-registration of the document as if it had not been previously registered, and as if such presentation for re-registration was a presentation for registration made within the time allowed therefor under Part IV, and all the provisions of this Act, as to registration of documents, shall apply to such re-registration; and such document, if duly re-registered in accordance with the provisions of this section, shall be deemed to have been duly registered for all purposes from the date of its original registration:

Provided that, within three months from the twelfth day of September, 1917, any person claiming under a document to which this section applies may present the same or cause the same to be presented for re-registration in accordance with this section, whatever may have been the time when he first became aware that the registration of the document was invalid.]

§ 24Documents executed by several persons at different times

Where there are several persons executing a document at different times, such document may be presented for registration and re-registration within four months from the date of each execution.

§ 25Provision where delay in presentation is unavoidable

(1)If, owing to urgent necessity or unavoidable accident, any document executed, or copy of a decree or order made, in Bangladesh is not presented for registration till after the expiration of the time hereinbefore prescribed in that behalf, the Registrar, in cases where the delay in presentation does not exceed four months, may direct that, on payment of a fine not exceeding ten times the amount of the proper registration-fee, such document shall be accepted for registration.

(2)Any application for such direction may be lodged with a Sub-Registrar, who shall forthwith forward it to the Registrar to whom he is subordinate.

§ 26Documents executed out of Bangladesh

When a document purporting to have been executed by all or any of the parties out of Bangladesh is not presented for registration will after the expiration of the time hereinbefore prescribed in that behalf, the registering officer, if satisfied-
(a) that the instrument was so executed, and
(b) that it has been presented for registration within
1
[six] months after its arrival in Bangladesh,
may, on payment of the proper registration
2
[fees, taxes, service charges or duties, whichever is applicable], accept such document for registration.

§ 27Wills may be presented or deposited at any time

A will may at any time be presented for registration or deposited in manner hereinafter provided.

§ 28Place for registering documents relating to land

(1)Save as in this Part otherwise provided, every document mentioned in section 17, sub-section (1), clause (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e), section 17, sub-section (2), and section 18, in so far as such documents affects immoveable property shall be presented for registration in the office of a Sub-Registrar within whose sub-district the whole or
1
[major portion] of the property to which such document relates is situate
2
[:

Provided thatwhere the major portion of such property is not situate within one sub-district the document shall be presented for registration in the office of the Sub-Registrar within whose sub-district any portion of such property is situate.]

(2)Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1),-
(a) after a document is registered, no party thereto shall be entitled to question the validity of its registration on the ground that the property which purported to give jurisdiction to the Sub-Registrar to register it either did not exist or was fictitious or insignificant or was not intended to be conveyed; and
(b) a document the registration of which is secured by the inclusion of a non-existent, fictitious or insignificant portion or item shall not in any manner affect the rights of a person who was not a party thereto and acquired rights in the property without notice of the transaction to which such document relates.

§ 29Place for registering other documents

(1)Every document not being a document referred to in section 28 or a copy of a decree or order, may be presented for registration either in the office of the Sub-Registrar in whose sub-district the document was executed, or in the office of any other Sub-Registrar under the Government at which all the persons executing and claiming under the document desire the same to be registered.

(2)A copy of a decree or order may be presented for registration in the office of the Sub-Registrar in whose sub-district the original decree or order was made, or, where the decree or order does not affect immoveable property, in the office of any other Sub-Registrar under the Government at which all the persons claiming under the decree or order desire the copy to be registered.

§ 30[Omitted]

[Omitted by section 3 of the Registration (Amendment) Ordinance, 1985 (Ordinance No. L of 1985).]

§ 31Registration or acceptance for deposit at private residence

The presentation, registration or deposit of documents under this Act shall ordinarily be made only at the office of the officer authorized to accept the same for registration or deposit:

Provided thatsuch officer may on special cause being shown attend at the residence of any person desiring to present a document for registration or to deposit a will, and accept for registration or deposit such document or will.

§ 32Persons to present documents for registration

Except in the cases mentioned in section 89, every document to be registered under this Act, whether such registration be compulsory or optional, shall be presented,-
(a) by some person executing or claiming under the same, or, in the case of a copy of a decree or order, claiming under the decree or order, or
(b) by the representative or assign of such person, or
(c) by the agent of such person, representative or assign, duly authorized by power-of-attorney executed and authenticated in manner hereinafter mentioned.

§ 33Power-of-attorney recognizable for purposes of section 32

(1)For the purposes of section 32, the following powers-of-attorney shall alone be recognized, namely:-
(a) if the principal at the time of executing the power-of-attorney resides in any part of Bangladesh in which this Act is for the time being in force, a power-of-attorney executed before and authenticated by the Registrar or Sub-Registrar within whose district or sub-district the principal resides;
(b) if the principal at the time aforesaid resides in any other part of Bangladesh, a power-of-attorney executed before and authenticated by any Magistrate;
(c) if the principal at the time aforesaid does not reside in Bangladesh a power-of-attorney executed before and authenticated by a Notary Public, or any Court, Judge, Magistrate, Bangladesh Consul or Vice-Consul or representative of the Government:

Provided thatthe following persons shall not be required to attend at any registration-office or Court for the purpose executing any such power-of-attorney as is mentioned in clauses (a) and (b) of this section, namely:-
(i) persons who by reason of bodily infirmity are unable without risk or serious inconvenience so to attend;
(ii) persons who are in jail under civil or criminal process; and
(iii) persons exempt by law from personal appearance in Court.

(2)In the case of every such person the Registrar or Sub-Registrar or Magistrate, as the case may be, if satisfied that the power-of-attorney has been voluntarily executed by the person purporting to be the principal, may attest the same without requiring his personal attendance at the office or Court aforesaid.

(3)To obtain evidence as to the voluntary nature of the execution, the Registrar or Sub-Registrar or Magistrate may either himself go to the house of the person purporting to be the principal, or to the jail in which he is confined, and examine him, or issue a commission for his examination.

(4)Any power-of-attorney mentioned in this section may be proved by the production of it without further proof when it purports on the face of it to have been executed before and authenticated by the person or Court hereinbefore mentioned in that behalf.

§ 34Enquiry before registration by registering officer

(1)Subject to the provisions contained in this Part and in sections 41, 43, 45, 69, 75, 77, 88 and 89, no document shall be registered under this Act, unless the persons executing such document, or their representatives, assigns or agents authorized as aforesaid, appear before the registering officer within the time allowed for presentation under sections 23, 24, 25 and 26:

Provided that, if owing to urgent necessity or unavoidable accident all such persons do not so appear, the Registrar, in cases where the delay in appearing does not exceed four months, may direct that on payment of a fine not exceeding ten times the amount of the proper registration fee, in addition to the fine, if any, payable under section 25, the document may be registered.

(2)Appearances under sub-section (1) may be simultaneous or at different times.

(3)The registering officer shall thereupon-
(a) enquire whether or not such document was executed by the persons by whom it purports to have been executed;
(b) satisfy himself as to the identity of the persons appearing before him and alleging that they have executed the document; and
(c) in the case of any person appearing as a representative, assign or agent, satisfy himself of the right of such persons so to appear.

(4)Any application for a direction under the proviso to sub-section (1) may be lodged with a Sub-Registrar, who shall forthwith forward it to the Registrar to whom he is sub-ordinate.

(5)Nothing in this section applies to copies of decrees or orders.

§ 35Procedure on admission and denial of execution respectively

(1)(a) If all the persons executing the document appear personally before the registering officer and are personally known to him, or if he be otherwise satisfied that they are the persons they represent themselves to be, and if they all admit the execution of the document, or
(b) if in the case of any person appearing by a representative, assign or agent, such representative, assign or agent admits the execution, or
(c) if the person executing the document is dead, and his representative or assign appears before the registering officer and admits the execution,
the registering officer shall register the document as directed in sections 58 to 61, inclusive.

(2)the registering officer may, in order to satisfy himself that the persons appearing before him are the persons they represent themselves to be, or for any other purpose contemplated by this Act, examine any one present in his office.

(3)(a) If any person by whom the document purports to be executed denies its execution, or
(b) if any such person appears to the registering officer to be a minor, an idiot or a lunatic, or
(c) if any person by whom the document purports to be executed is dead, and his representative or assign denies its execution, the registering officer shall refuse to register the document as to the person so denying, appearing or dead:

Provided that, where such officer is a Registrar, he shall follow the procedure prescribed in Part XII:
Provided further that the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, declare that any Sub-Registrar named in the notification shall, in respect of documents the execution of which is denied, by deemed to be a Registrar for the purposes of this sub-section and of Part XII.

§ 36Procedure where appearance of executant or witness is desired

If any person presenting any document for registration or claiming under any document, which is capable of being so presented, desires the appearance of any person whose presence or testimony is necessary for the registration of such document, the registering officer may, in his discretion call upon such officer or Court as the Government directs in this behalf to issue a summons requiring him to appear at the registration-office, either in person or by duly authorized agent, as in the summons may be mentioned, and at a time named therein.

§ 37Officer or Court to issue and cause service of summons

The officer or Court, upon receipt of the peon's fee payable in such cases, shall issue the summons accordingly, and cause it to be served upon the person whose appearance is so required.

§ 38Persons exempt from appearance at registration-office

(1)(a) A person who by reason of bodily infirmity is unable without risk or serious inconvenience to appear at the registration-office, or
(b) a person in jail under civil or criminal process, or
(c) persons exempt by law from personal appearance in Court, and who would but for the provision next hereinafter contained be required to appear in person at the registration-office,
shall not be required so to appear.

(2)In the case of every such person the registering officer shall either himself go to the house of such person, or to the jail in which he is confined, and examine him or issue a commission for his examination.

§ 39Law as to summonses, commissions and witnesses

The law in force for the time being as to summonses, commissions and compelling the attendance of witnesses, and for their remuneration in suits before Civil Courts, shall, save as aforesaid and mutatis mutandis, apply to any summons or commission issued and any person summoned to appear under the provisions of this Act.

§ 40Persons entitled to present Wills and authorities to adopt

(1)The testator, or after his death any person claiming as executor or otherwise under a will, may present it to any Registrar or Sub-Registrar for registration.

(2)The donor, or after his death the donee, of any authority to adopt, or the adoptive son, may present it to any registrar or Sub-Registrar for registration.

§ 41Registration of wills and authorities to adopt

(1)A will or an authority to adopt, presented for registration by the testator or donor, may be registered in the same manner as any other document.

(2)A will or authority to adopt presented for registration by any other person entitled to present it shall be registered if the registering officer is satisfied-
(a) that the will or authority was executed by the testator or donor, as the case may be;
(b) that the testator or donor is dead; and
(c) that the person presenting the will or authority is, under section 40, entitled to present the same.

§ 42Deposit of wills

(1)Any testator may, either personally or by duly authorized agent, deposit with any Registrar his will in a sealed cover super scribed with the name of the testator and that of his agent (if any) and with a statement of the nature of the document.

(2)The testator shall also endorse on the cover the name and address of the person to whom the original document shall be delivered after registration thereof, after his death.

§ 43Procedure on deposit of wills

(1)On receiving such cover, the Registrar, if satisfied that the person presenting the same for deposit is the testator or his agent, shall transcribe in his Register-book No. 5 the superscription aforesaid, and shall note in the same book and on the said cover the year, month, day and hour of such presentation and receipt, and the names of any persons who may testify to the identity of the testator or his agent, and any legible inscription which may be on the seal of the cover.

(2)The Registrar shall then place and retain the sealed cover in his fire-proof box.

§ 44Withdrawal of sealed cover deposited under section 42

If the testator who has deposited such cover wishes to withdraw it, he may apply, either personally or by duly authorized agent, to the Registrar who holds it in deposit, and such Registrar, if satisfied that the applicant is actually the testator or his agent, shall deliver the cover accordingly.

§ 45Proceedings on death of depositor

(1)If, on the death of a testator who has deposited a sealed cover under section 42, application be made to the Registrar who holds it in deposit to open the same, and if the Registrar is satisfied that the testator is dead, he shall, in the applicant's presence, upon the cover, and, at the applicant's expense, cause the contents thereof to be copied in to his book No. 3 and then deliver the deposited will to the nominee of the testator or his representative.

(2)If, in respect of any will deposited no steps are taken by the testator or other person under section 44 or sub-section (1) of this section, the Registrar shall follow the procedure hereinafter provided for the disposal of such will or sealed cover.

§ 46Saving of certain enactments and powers of Courts

(1)Nothing hereinbefore contained shall affect the provisions of
1
[the
Succession Act, 1925
,] or the power of any Court by order to compel the production of any will.

(2)When any such order is made, the Registrar shall, unless the will has been already copied under section 45, open the cover and cause the will to be copied in to his Book No. 3 and make a note on such copy that the original has been removed into Court in pursuance of the order aforesaid.