Role of mother deed in tracing the history of ownership of a property

Ownership of a property changes hands through a series of transactions. Thus, it is very important to trace the ownership of a property. Mother deed acts as the key legal document as it the sign of the evidence ownership of a property. This document also traces all other relevant conveyance deeds.

For tracing the ownership of a property, you need to begin the process with inspection of the earliest document recorded. If no such documents available, certified copies should be obtained from the registering authorities. This process should not be ignored. Earlier documents are known as mother or parent documents.

There are various ways through which a property changes hands like a sale, gift, transfer, partition, inheritance and so on. This change of ownership should be traced with the help of a transfer document and the documents should be in a chronological order and should be continuous and unbroken.

Missing links should be carefully scrutinised and referred to the records at the registering offices, revenue records and recitals in other documents. The flow of the property ownership should be traced up to the present owner.

Contents of a mother deed:

• Details of the location
• Details of the road
• Details of the door number
• Details of the block and ward numbers
• Details of surrounding properties
• Details of the parties involved – owner and transferer
• Consideration agreed upon
• Details of the advance amount paid
• Details of the mode of payment
• Details of the time limit for payment of consideration
• Details of the indemnity provisions for the parties

Stamp duty:

It is prepared on a non-judicial stamp paper of requisite value as prescribed by the Stamp Act of the concerned state. The buyer is liable to pay the stamp duty based on the applicable stamp rules. Once all the formalities are completed, the mother deed is prepared. Mother deed should be executed by all the parties concerned and all the pages of the deed should be signed. It is mandatory that the deed preparation should be witnessed by at least two people.

Registration:

A mother deed is registered at the jurisdictional sub-registrar’s office. It is important that all the parties involved should be present at the time of registration. Documents produced should be original. In case if the purchaser is absent at the time of registration, he/she can give power of attorney to an accomplice to sign and present the documents on his behalf. The photo of the buyer, thumb prints and the signature are to be entered on the mother deed.

It is important that the documents should be presented for registration within four months of the date of execution. If documents are not produced, a grace period of another four months will be allowed on payment of penalty. The penalty of 10 times the registration charges may be levied by the registrar.