Jharkhand High Court nullifies Deputy Commissioner’s power to cancel Registered Deeds

Ranchi: In a landmark decision, Justice Gautam Kumar Chaudhary of the Jharkhand High Court declared the authority granted to Deputy Commissioners in 2016 by the state government, empowering them to cancel registered sale deeds, as null and void. The court ruled on Thursday, emphasizing that Deputy Commissioners lack the legal right to annul registered deeds and labeled the state government’s conferment of such authority as erroneous.

The verdict came in response to 33 petitions challenging the Deputy Commissioner’s orders regarding the cancellation of sale deeds. The High Court firmly stated that the orders issued by Deputy Commissioners to cancel registered deeds under the purported authority are illegal.

Furthermore, the court denounced the Deputy Commissioner of Deoghar for directing the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Anamika Gaitam, the wife of Godda MP Nishikant Dubey (the applicant) in connection with the registered deed case. The High Court held that such an order was also improper.