Two separate things are happening here and they need to be kept apart. One is the administrative requirement that the property carry a digitised khata before the document is accepted. The other is your legal right to have a refusal recorded and reviewed. Most people only pursue the first, which is usually enough, but the second is what you fall back on when the refusal is wrong.
Step one: find out which of two problems you actually have
The refusal will fall into one of these, and the answer differs entirely
- The property has a khata, but it has not been digitised. This is the common case and it is administrative. Generate the e-khata on the portal, then re-present the document.
- The draft e-khata shows wrong extent, wrong name or wrong dimensions. Object and get it corrected before registering, not after. A defect carried into the sale deed is far harder to undo.
- The property has no khata at all. Apply for khata registration first. There is nothing to digitise.
- The property is B khata and you were told that alone bars registration. Ask for the reason in writing, because that is a different proposition and it needs to be tested.
- The refusal is for something else entirely, such as a stamp duty deficit or an attachment on the property, and e-khata has simply been given as the reason. The Book entry will tell you.
Insist on the refusal being recorded
This is the step almost nobody takes and it is the one that matters. Under the Registration Act, 1908 a registering officer who refuses to register a document must record his reasons for refusal in Book 1 and, on demand, give the person presenting the document a copy of those reasons. An oral refusal across a counter is not a refusal you can do anything with. A recorded refusal is.
If you leave without the endorsement, you have no document, no date and nothing to appeal against. Present the deed, ask for the refusal to be recorded, and take the copy. Keep the presentation receipt.
The appeal, and the time limit on it
Where the refusal is on any ground other than denial of execution, the Registration Act provides an appeal to the Registrar. That appeal must be filed within 30 days of the order of refusal. If the Registrar also refuses, the Act provides for a suit to compel registration, again within a limited period. Both clocks run from the refusal, which is another reason the written endorsement matters.
| Route | What it is | Time limit | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generate the e-khata | Administrative, on the municipal portal | None, but the sale timeline is running | The khata exists and simply is not digitised |
| Appeal to the Registrar | Statutory appeal against refusal | 30 days from the refusal order | The refusal is on a ground other than denial of execution |
| Suit to compel registration | Civil suit following an unsuccessful appeal | Short, and runs from the order | The Registrar has also refused |
| Writ petition | High Court, on illegality or arbitrariness | No fixed period, but delay is fatal | The refusal has no legal basis at all |
What to carry when you go back
- The e-khata, or the acknowledgement of the application if it is still pending
- The latest property tax paid receipt, matching the khata particulars
- The parent or mother deed and the chain of title
- The Encumbrance Certificate covering the period searched
- Aadhaar and PAN of both parties, and the witnesses
- The e-stamp and the registration fee challan
- The earlier presentation receipt and the written refusal endorsement
The point people miss
The e-khata requirement is a registration formality. It does not cure a title defect and it is not a certificate of clear title. A property can hold a perfectly valid e-khata and still be the subject of a pending suit, an unreleased mortgage or a disputed succession. Continue to run the Encumbrance Certificate and the title search on their own footing, and see the property practice page for the wider due diligence sequence.