SC asks Centre to adopt blockchain tech for smooth property registrations

The apex court called India's property registration process "traumatic" and asked the Centre to use blockchain technology to modernise and secure land ownership records

The Supreme Court on Friday said property transactions in India were “traumatic” and asked the Centre to take the lead in adopting blockchain technology to make the registration process seamless nationwide.

 

Calling for a complete overhaul of India’s land registration and titling system, a Bench of Justice P S Narasimha and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the existing framework, rooted in colonial-era laws, had created confusion, inefficiency, and a flood of litigation.

 

The Court highlighted a “dichotomy between registration and title,” urging the government to modernise the system using emerging technologies such as blockchain.

 

What reforms has the Court recommended?

 

 

The Bench asked the Law Commission of India to study the issue comprehensively and recommend measures for establishing a conclusive, technology-enabled property ownership system.

 

“The Registration Act mandates registration of documents, not of title. Registration of a sale deed does not confer guaranteed ownership; it only serves as a public record with presumptive evidentiary value,” the Court observed.

 

It noted that even a registered sale deed is not conclusive proof of ownership, forcing buyers to trace decades of past transactions to verify title. “Property purchase has not been easy. It is not difficult to find people grudgingly telling us that it is, in fact, traumatic,” Justice Narasimha wrote in the judgment.

 

How big is India’s property litigation problem?

 

According to the Court, property-related cases account for nearly 66 per cent of all civil litigation in India. It cited systemic flaws, fake and fraudulent documents, encroachments, verification delays, and fragmented state-level procedures as key reasons behind the lack of trust in land transactions. 

 

While acknowledging initiatives such as the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme and the National Generic Document Registration System, the Bench cautioned that “if the original record is inaccurate, incomplete, or disputed, the digital version will only perpetuate the flaw.”

 

How can blockchain help transform property registration?

 

The Court identified blockchain as a potential solution to create a “secure, transparent, and tamper-proof system” for land registration.

 

“Each record, once entered into the distributed ledger, becomes part of a cryptographically linked chain that cannot be retroactively altered without detection,” the judgment said.

 

Such a system, it suggested, could integrate cadastral maps, survey data, and revenue records into a unified, verifiable framework.

 

What legal changes did the Court recommend?

 

The Court urged the Centre to coordinate with states and consider aligning or amending laws such as the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, the Registration Act, 1908, the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, the Evidence Act, 1872, the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Data Protection Act, 2023, to build a modern legal framework.

 

“The Government of India must take the lead in constituting a body with participation of the States to examine the integration of property registration with conclusive titling,” the Bench said, adding that “we must dare to think and look for alternatives.”

 

Which rule did the Supreme Court strike down?

 

The remarks came as the Court struck down Rule 19 of the Bihar Registration Rules, 2008, which empowered registrars to refuse property registration if proof of mutation was not provided.

 

The Court held that the provision was ultra vires the Registration Act, reinforcing its call for a transparent and technology-driven property registration system.