No document required by section 17 or by any provision of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882), to be registered shall—
(a) affect any immovable property comprised therein, or
(b) confer any power to adopt, or
(c) be received as evidence of any transaction affecting such property or conferring such power,
unless it has been registered:
Provided that an unregistered document affecting immovable property and required by this Act or the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882), to be registered may be received as evidence of a contract in a suit for specific performance under Chapter II of the Specific Relief Act, 1877 (1 of 1877), or as evidence of any collateral transaction not required to be effected by registered instrument.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 49
Section 49 of the Registration Act, 1908 governs the legal effect of non-registration of documents compulsorily registrable under Section 17, establishing evidentiary bars and the vital collateral transaction proviso.
This statutory framework establishes clear operational guidelines, balancing legal compliance with procedural safeguards.
The proviso to Section 49 is the most heavily litigated statutory exception in Indian civil procedure. An unregistered agreement to sell can always be admitted in evidence to obtain a decree for specific performance under *Ameer Minhaj*. In property disputes, an unregistered deed can be admitted to show the nature of possession (e.g. whether permissive or adverse) but never to prove transfer of title or lease terms.