Section 77 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 77 gives the final remedy in the Act's refusal scheme: a suit in the civil Court for a decree directing that a document be registered. As per the text of the Act consulted, the suit lies where the Registrar has refused to order registration under section 72 or section 76, it must be instituted within thirty days after the order of refusal, and the document must be duly presented within thirty days after the decree. If the Registrar has refused to order registration and the thirty days are running, our legal dispute resolution service can assess whether and how to sue.
Where the Registrar refuses to order a document to be registered under section 72 or section 76, a person claiming under the document (or his representative, assign or agent) may, within thirty days after the order of refusal, sue in the civil Court within whose original jurisdiction the registration office is situate for a decree directing registration. The document must be duly presented within thirty days after the decree. Sections 75(2) and (3) apply, and the document is receivable in evidence in the suit.
Section 77(1): the suit
The sub-section reads, in outline:
| Element | Text of section 77(1) |
|---|---|
| Trigger | The Registrar refuses to order the document to be registered, under section 72 or section 76 |
| Plaintiff | Any person claiming under such document, or his representative, assign or agent |
| Time | Within thirty days after the making of the order of refusal |
| Court | The civil Court within the local limits of whose original jurisdiction is situate the office in which the document is sought to be registered |
| Relief | A decree directing the document to be registered in such office |
| Condition | If it be duly presented for registration within thirty days after the passing of the decree |
Several points follow.
Where the suit comes in the sequence. Section 77 comes after the Registrar. The Sub-Registrar's refusal under section 71 is met by an appeal under section 72 or an application under sections 73 to 75; a Registrar's refusal is then recorded under section 76. Our article on the Registrar's order of refusal covers the last of those stages. Section 76(2) says no appeal lies from the Registrar's order, and section 77 is the remedy that remains in the Act.
Who may sue. The right belongs to "any person claiming under such document, or his representative, assign or agent". The text consulted does not extend it to anyone else.
Where to sue. The suit is instituted "in the civil Court, within the local limits of whose original jurisdiction is situate the office in which the document is sought to be registered". The place is tied to the office where registration is sought, not to the home of the plaintiff. The text does not name the grade of the Court beyond "civil Court", and this article does not add anything on that or on court fees.
The time. The thirty days run "after the making of the order of refusal". The sub-section contains no words extending the period. Check the general law on limitation separately, because that is not part of the Registration Act; our existing guide on limitation periods for suits and appeals is a general starting point. The Registration Act text consulted is silent on how the general law on limitation interacts with the thirty days.
Registration is run by the States, and your State may have amended section 77 or made rules under section 69. This article explains only the central text; check the State position and any later amendment.
What the decree directs
The decree is one "directing the document to be registered in such office". The grant is conditional: the relief applies "if it be duly presented for registration within thirty days after the passing of such decree". So there are two thirty-day clocks again. The first runs from the order of refusal to the institution of the suit; the second runs from the decree to the due presentation of the document.
Section 77(2): consequences for the document
Sub-section (2) says two things.
- "The provisions contained in sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 75 shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to all documents presented for registration in accordance with any such decree".
- "Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the document shall be receivable in evidence in such suit."
Sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 75
Those sub-sections provide that where the document is duly presented within thirty days, the registering officer obeys and follows the procedure of sections 58, 59 and 60 so far as practicable, and that the registration takes effect as if the document had been registered when it was first duly presented. "Mutatis mutandis" means with the necessary changes: the decree stands in the place of the Registrar's order. Our article on the Registrar's order to register and procedure sets out sub-sections (2) and (3).
The document in evidence
"Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act" lifts any bar in the Act on using the document, but only in "such suit", the suit for registration. The sub-section gives no wider rule. Section 49, which deals with the effect of non-registration of a document, is covered in our existing post on the effect of non-registration, section 49; the point here is only that section 77(2) allows the unregistered document to be received in evidence in the suit under this section.
What section 77 does not say
- It does not set the Court fee or the form of the plaint.
- It does not provide any time for deciding the suit.
- It does not state what happens to rights that arose between the first presentation and the decree, beyond the effect stated in section 75(3).
- It does not extend the thirty days.
An example
Anita's sale deed in favour of Bharat was refused by the Sub-Registrar. The Registrar, on appeal under section 72, refuses to order registration. Bharat, a person claiming under the document, files a suit within thirty days after the order of refusal in the civil Court within whose local limits the registration office lies, asking for a decree that the deed be registered in that office. The Court passes a decree directing registration. Bharat presents the deed to that office within thirty days after the decree. The registering officer follows the procedure under sections 58, 59 and 60 so far as practicable, and, under section 75(3) as applied by section 77(2), the registration takes effect as if the deed had been registered when it was first duly presented.
Need help with a suit to compel registration?
A suit under section 77 is a court proceeding with a thirty-day limit from the Registrar's order. Our legal dispute resolution team can examine the refusal order and the documents and tell you what the route involves.
Key takeaways
- Section 77 applies where the Registrar refuses to order registration under section 72 or section 76.
- The suit is by a person claiming under the document, or his representative, assign or agent, within thirty days after the order of refusal.
- It is filed in the civil Court within whose local original jurisdiction the registration office lies.
- The document must be duly presented within thirty days after the decree.
- Sections 75(2) and (3) apply with the necessary changes; the document is receivable in evidence in the suit.
- Check your State's amendments and rules and any later amendment.
Read next
- Order of refusal by the Registrar: section 76
- Registrar's order to register and procedure: section 75
- Refusal to register: grounds and remedy
- Effect of non-registration of a document: section 49
Disclaimer: Based on a print of the Registration Act, 1908 marked as last updated on 9 July 2020, as consulted on 2 October 2026. State amendments and rules, later amendments, registration fees and stamp duty are not covered and should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.