CHANDIGARH, October 14: The Chandigarh District Court has dismissed a suit seeking a declaration for the transfer of a property title based solely on an Agreement to Sell and a Will, underscoring that a registered sale deed is necessary for property transfer.
The suit was filed by Kailash Garg, a Chandigarh resident, who claimed he had purchased a dwelling unit from the late Atul Gupta in November 2016 for Rs 60 lakh through an Agreement to Sell. Garg said he had cared for Gupta in his final days and that a Will was executed in his favour on the same day, registered with the Sub-Registrar, Sector 17, Chandigarh, on November 8, 2016.
Garg alleged that he approached the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) to get the property transferred in his name, but the Board refused.
CHB counsel Vikas Jain contended that the suit was not maintainable, noting that the dwelling unit had been allotted to Gupta on September 17, 2009, possession was given on March 16, 2010, and a No Dues Certificate (NDC) was issued on December 9, 2015. Jain argued that a declaration of title could not be granted solely on the basis of an Agreement to Sell and a Will, as it would violate public policy.
The court observed that executing a Will immediately after a sale appeared to be an attempt to circumvent stamp duty and taxes payable on property transfers. Citing the Supreme Court’s ‘Suraj Lamp’ judgment, the court concluded that the suit was legally untenable and dismissed it.
The ruling reinforces the principle that property titles cannot be transferred without a registered sale deed, and that Agreements to Sell or Wills alone do not confer legal ownership.
