AIR 1969 SUPREME COURT 1147

Supreme Court Of India

(From Madras)*

Hon'ble Judge(s): S. M. Sikri, R. S. Bachawat, K. S. Hegde , JJJ

(A) Transfer of Property Act (4 of 1882) , S.3— Word "attested" - Meaning - Essential conditions of valid attestation - Identifier or registering officer is not attesting witness.Words and Phrases - Attested. Registration Act (16 of 1908) , S.59— The word "attested", occurs in Sec. 3, T. P. Act, as part of the definition itself. To attest is to bear witness to a fact. The essential conditions of a valid attestation under Section 3 of T. P. Act are: (1) two or more witnesses have seen the executant sign the instrument or have received from him a personal acknowledgment of his signature; (2) with a view to attest or to bear witness to this fact each of them has signed the instrument in the presence of the executant. It is essential that the witness should have put his signature animo attestandi, that is, for the purpose of attesting that he has seen the executant sign or has received from him a personal acknowledgment of his signature. If a person puts his signature on the document for some other purpose, e. g. to certify that he is a scribe or an identifier or a registering officer, he is not an attesting witness.(Para 8) @page-SC1148 Prima facie, the registering officer puts his signature on the document in discharge of his statutory duty under Section 59 of Registration Act and not for the purp....