(1) If, owing to urgent necessity or unavoidable accident, any document executed, or copy of a decree or order made, in India 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.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 25
Section 25 of the Registration Act, 1908 empowers the Registrar to condone unavoidable delay in presenting documents for registration up to an additional four months.
Sub-section (2) provides that any such application may be presented through a Sub-Registrar, who shall forthwith forward it to the Registrar. The section creates an absolute outer ceiling: delay beyond four additional months (eight months total from execution) cannot be condoned by any authority under the Act.
To invoke Section 25, the executant or claimant must file a formal application before the Registrar within the outer eight-month window, supported by medical certificates, travel records, or proof of unavoidable impediment. The maximum fine is ten times the ordinary registration fee.