Registered Mortgage

Transfer of Property Act, 1882 — Section 58; Registration Act, 1908 — Section 17

A mortgage created by a registered deed under the Registration Act, 1908. A simple mortgage (Section 58(b) TPA) requires registration. Upon default under a registered mortgage, the mortgagee files a mortgage suit in civil court or proceeds under SARFAESI if the mortgage is over the loan threshold. Registration provides priority over subsequent unregistered claims.

In practice, a registered mortgage is the most secure form of immovable-property security a bank can hold, created by a registered deed under the Registration Act, 1908 (Section 17) over the property described in the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (Section 58). Registration is what gives the charge priority over later unregistered claims and puts the world on notice through the public record. For the lender, this matters most in a contest between competing creditors: a registered mortgagee generally ranks ahead of a subsequent equitable mortgagee or unrecorded claimant over the same property. On default the bank either files a mortgage suit in the civil court or, where the facility crosses the SARFAESI threshold, enforces under SARFAESI. The recurring pitfall is defective creation — an inadequately stamped or unregistered deed where registration was required can render the security unenforceable and the priority lost. Borrowers probe exactly these defects. Well-advised creditors confirm proper registration and stamping at the time the security is created.