Register Books, Indexes and Public Access under Sections 51 to 57 of the Registration Act, 1908: The Five Books, the Duties on Presentation, the Four Indexes, Inspection, and Certified Copies

Everything the Act does for the public rests on these sections. A register that nobody can search, or from which no copy can be had, would give no notice and prevent no fraud. Section 51 prescribes the books, Section 52 the duties on presentation, Sections 54 and 55 the indexes by which the books are searched, and Section 57 the right of inspection and to certified copies, with the important qualification that a will in Book 3 stays confidential during the testator's lifetime.

The five books and the four indexes

1. The Books: Section 51

Book	What goes into it
Book 1, register of non-testamentary documents relating to immovable property	All documents and memoranda registered under Sections 17, 18 and 89 that relate to immovable property and are not wills; also the copies and memoranda received under Sections 64 to 66
Book 2, record of reasons for refusal to register	The reasons recorded by the registering officer under Section 71 when he declines to register
Book 3, register of wills and authorities to adopt	Wills registered under Sections 40 and 41, authorities to adopt, and the contents of a deposited will copied after death under Section 45
Book 4, miscellaneous register	Documents registered under Section 18(d) and (f) that do not relate to immovable property
Book 5, register of deposits of wills	Kept by the Registrar; only the superscription and the particulars of receipt are transcribed under Section 43, never the contents

2. Duties on Presentation: Sections 52 and 53

The endorsement. The day, hour and place of presentation, and the signature of the person presenting the document, are endorsed on it at the time of presentation.
The receipt. The registering officer gives a receipt for the document to the person presenting it.
The copy. Every document admitted to registration is copied without unnecessary delay into the book appropriated for it, according to the order of its admission.
Photographs and fingerprints are affixed under Section 32A, and the State rules govern their capture in the computerised systems built on Section 16A.
Authentication of the books is at such intervals and in such manner as the Inspector General prescribes.
Section 53. All entries in each book are numbered in a consecutive series that commences and terminates with the year, a fresh series beginning each year.

3. The Indexes: Sections 54 and 55

Section 54 requires current indexes to be prepared, each entry made so far as practicable immediately after the officer has copied the document or filed a memorandum of it.
Index No. I: the names and additions of all persons executing and all persons claiming under every document entered or memorandum filed in Book 1. This is the index searched by name.
Index No. II: the particulars of the property mentioned in Section 21, for the same documents. This is the index searched by property, and it is the one a purchaser relies on.
Index No. III: the names and additions of persons executing wills and authorities in Book 3, and, only after the death of the testator or donor, the names of those claiming under them.
Index No. IV: the names and additions of executants and claimants for Book 4.
Section 56 has been repealed. The particulars and the form of each index are prescribed by the Inspector General under Section 69.

4. Inspection and Copies: Section 57

Book	Who may inspect or obtain copies
Books 1 and 2, and the indexes relating to Book 1	Open at all times to inspection by any person applying, on payment of the fee, and copies of entries given to all persons applying
Book 3 and its index	Copies given to the persons executing the documents, or their agents, and after the death of the executants, but not before, to any person applying
Book 4 and its index	Copies given to any person executing or claiming as a party, or his agent or representative, and on the order of a court to any person applying
Searches in Books 3 and 4	The requisite search is made only by the registering officer

Certified copies are evidence. Section 57(5) requires copies to be signed and sealed by the registering officer, and makes them admissible for the purpose of proving the contents of the original document.
This is why registration protects against loss. If the original is destroyed, the certified copy proves what it said.
But a certified copy is not the original. It proves the contents, not the execution, the genuineness or the title, and where the original is available it should be produced.
The search is the point. Index II is the practical safeguard for a purchaser, and a title search in any State follows the property through that index over the statutory period.

5. The Position Stated Shortly

Section 51 prescribes Books 1 to 4, and the Registrar keeps Book 5 for deposits of wills under Section 43.
Section 52: the day, hour and place of presentation and the presenter's signature are endorsed, a receipt is given, and the document is copied without unnecessary delay.
Section 53: entries are numbered consecutively, in a fresh series each year.
Sections 54 and 55: four indexes, with Index I by name and Index II by property for Book 1.
Index III protects a living testator by withholding claimants' names until death.
Section 57: Books 1 and 2 and the Book 1 indexes are open to any person; Books 3 and 4 are restricted.
Certified copies are signed and sealed, and are admissible to prove the contents of the original.