The Gazetteers Department

Under the Indian Registration Act (XVI of 1908), compulsory registration is required in the case of certain documents and optional registration is provided for certain other documents. Documents which fulfil the prescribed requirement and for which the required stamp duty and registration fees are paid are registered. A record of such registered documents is kept and extracts of documents affecting immoveable property in respect of which Record-of-Rights is maintained are sent to the offices concerned for making mutations. Certified copies from the preserved records of registered documents are also issued to parties who apply for them.

Organisation

The Inspector-General of Registration is the head of the department at the state level. Under him is a District Registrar for each district who supervises the registration work in the district.

The Collector of the district functions as an ex-officio District Registrar. Under the District Registrar, there are sub-registrars. In 1960, there were five sub-registrars in Bhir district one each at the sub-registry offices at Ashti, Bhir, Georai, Manjlegaon and Ambejogai. The sub-registrars are appointed by the Inspector-General of Registration. The sub-registry and district registry staff is appointed by the District Registrar.

The District Registrar is required to carry out the instructions of the Inspector-General of Registration in all departmental matters. If he has any suggestions to make for the improvement of the registration system, he submits them to the Inspector-General. The District Registrar has powers of supervision over the sub-registrars and advises them in their day to day work. He visits the sub-registry offices in his district at least once in every two years and sends his memorandum of inspection to the Inspector-General of Registration. He hears appeals and applications preferred to him under Sections 72 and 73 of the Indian Registration Act (XVI of 1908) against refusals to register documents by the sub-registrars under him. Under Sections 25 and 34 of the same Act, he is empowered to condone delays in presentation of documents and appearance of executants, provided the delay does not exceed four months, and to direct the documents concerned to be registered on payment of a fine not exceeding ten times the proper registration fee. He is also competent to order refunds in the, case of surcharges and to grant full or partial remission of safe custody fees in suitable cases. A will or codicil may be deposited with him under a sealed cover, and it may be got registered at the cost of the party desiring it, after the depositor's death.

Senior sub-registrars are appointed as inspectors of registration. Their work is to inspect the work of all sub-registry offices in their charge. Bhir district is under the inspector of registration, Aurangabad Division, Aurangabad. The inspection memoranda drawn up by these officers are scrutinised by the Inspector-General of Registration. The prant officers also inspect the sub-registries and submit their inspection reports to the District Registrar who forwards them to the Inspector-General of Registration if they contain anything of importance or interest deserving his notice.

The Inspector of Registration is directly subordinate to the Inspector-General of Registration and does not exercise any administrative control over the registration offices. He is not a subordinate of the District Registrar. His duty is mainly confined to the inspection of the technical work of the registration offices, including the central records and to audit their accounts. He inspects the books in the central office of record and reports to the District Registrar about their condition so that any records which are in danger of being destroyed may be recopied and authenticated according to law. The inspector examines the books, indices, accounts and other records in the offices of the sub-registrars once a year and sends one copy of his memorandum of inspection to the District Registrar and another to the Inspector-General for approval. The Inspector-General passes orders in respect of such memoranda, adding his own remarks or suggestions, if any, for being complied with by the sub-registrar concerned.

Fess are levied for registration according to the prescribed scale but the State Government have exempted or partially exempted levy of registration fees in respect of documents pertaining to the societies registered under the Co-operative Societies Act. Certain types of societies such as urban co-operative societies and land mortgage banks in Marathwada enjoy restricted exemptions in respect of documents involving a certain prescribed consideration. All rural co-operative societies enjoy unrestricted exemption. [For details see Clauses (m) and (n) of Article of the Table of fees prepared under Section 78 of the Indian Registration Act by the former Hyderabad Government.]

Statistics

A total of 4,370 documents were registered in the district during 1960. Of these 4,152 documents falling under compulsory registration were of the aggregate value of Rs. 80,78,272.41; documents falling under optional registration were of the aggregate value of Rs. 2,609; 114 documents affecting moveable property were of the aggregate value of Rs. 55,900 and 63 were wills.

The photo-copying system has not been extended to offices in Marathwada. All such offices in the district follow the hand copying system.

The Bombay Registration of Marriages Act, 1954, has not been extended to Marathwada region and is, therefore, not applicable to this district.

Income and Expenditure

The average annual income of the Bhir Registration District is Rs. 75,471 and the average annual expenditure comes to Rs. 23,103 [Based on the figures for the triennium 1958-1960.]