Centre drafts new Registration Bill 2025 to replace colonial-era law, seeks public suggestions within 30 days

New Registration Bill 2025: In a bid to modernise India’s over-a-century-old property registration law, the Ministry of Rural Development has rolled out a draft of the Registration Bill, 2025, inviting public suggestions for a period of 30 days. The new legislation, once enacted, will replace the colonial-era Registration Act of 1908.

The proposed law, which is prepared by the Department of Land Resources under the Ministry, aims to completely revamp the document registration framework in the country, making it fully digital, transparent, and newer. The last date for the submission of views and suggestions is June 25, 2025.

Why a new law?

The existing 1908 Act has long served as the backbone for registering documents related to immovable property. However, with society and technology rapidly evolving, officials believe it’s time for an upgrade.

The draft Bill is designed to ensure that the registration process is not only robust and legally sound, but also citizen-friendly. The idea is to support a seamless online experience for individuals and businesses, reduce paperwork, and bring clarity to the powers and responsibilities of registration officers.

Key features of the draft Registration Bill, 2025:

End-to-end online registration: Submission of electronic documents, Aadhaar-based authentication (with consent), and e-certificates of registration have been incorporated under this Act. Alternatives for those who do not want to use Aadhaar have been suggested.

Miscellaneous scope for mandatory registration: New categories will now require compulsory registration such as agreements to sell, sale certificates, powers of attorney, equitable mortgages, and certain instruments before courts.

A tighter legal framework: The draft gives the registering officer clear grounds for refusal of registration and allows the Government to make rules relating to cancellation, with safeguards for natural justice.

Institutional reforms: The Bill envisages a modern registration hierarchy comprising Additional and Assistant Inspectors General of Registration. It also allows streamlined appointment processes and greater discretionary power for rule-making to the state governments.

Simple, citizen-centric approach: The Bill seeks to make the system accessible by dint of plain language drafting, digital services, and transparency, especially for individuals and small businesses.

The ministry has encouraged people, jurists, stakeholders to examine the draft and send their suggestions in a prescribed format to the email [email protected], either as Word documents or machine-readable PDFs.