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Section 39: Law as to summonses, commissions and witnesses

Registration Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1908
Section 38 All 93 Sections of Registration Act Section 40

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 39

Section 39 regulates the issuance, execution, and return of commissions issued by the registering officer to examine executants or witnesses.

  • Issuance of Commission: The registering officer may issue a commission directed to any person whom he thinks fit to examine the executant or witness.
  • Powers of Commissioner: Commissioner examines the person at their residence or jail and records their admission or denial of execution.
  • Return of Commission: Commissioner returns the commission with his signed report to the registering officer.
  • Admissibility as Evidence: Report operates as legal evidence of execution, enabling the Sub-Registrar to register the deed under Section 35.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Veena Singh v. District Registrar, (2022) 7 SCC 1: The Supreme Court held that the commissioner's report under Section 39 forms primary evidence of whether execution was genuine or procured through deception.
  • Subhash Chander v. BPCL, 2022 SCC OnLine SC 120: Affirmed the evidential weight of official commissioner returns in registration inquiries.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Ensure that the commissioner appointed under Section 39 specifically records that the contents of the deed were read over and explained to the executant in their mother tongue.

Section 38 All 93 Sections of Registration Act Section 40