Preliminary Decree suffice Right to Property: HC

The Honourable Mr.Justice K Ravichandrabaabu, in the High Court of Judicature at Madras, in his Order dated 26 April 2019, has directed a Sub Registrar in Erode, who has refused to register the preliminary decree for partition made in on the ground that only the final decree for partition can be registered.

The court, while distinguishing a preliminary decree from the final decree, has stated that
the the difference between the two is that the rights and shares of the respective parties are decided are decided in the former while the metes and bounds are also stated in the latter.

In Section 18 of the Registration Act, 1908, statinh about the documents of  which registration is optional, Clause (cc) of the Section 18, states that a decree or order or award purports or operates to create declare, assign, limit or extinguish any right, title or interest and that the same may be registered.
Thus the Clause contemplates only a Decree and not any Final Decree in a suit for Partition.

Hence, it is observed that the petitioner is well within rights to claim for Registering the Preliminary Decree and that there is no reason for the Registrar to reject the same, demanding for the Final Decree.
Download Order.