Registration Act, 1908 — section 70

70. Power of Inspector-General to remit fines..—The Inspector-General may also, in the exercise of his discretion, remit wholly or in part the difference between any fine levied under section 25 or section 34, and the amount of the proper registration fee.4 5 [PART XI-A OF THE COPYING OF DOCUMENTS BY MEANS OF PHOTOGRAPHY. 70-A. Application of this Part.— This Part shall apply to such areas only as are specified in a notification issued under section 70-D. 70-B. Definition. For the purposes of this Part “Photo Registrar”, means a photo-Registrar appointed under this Part. 1 Subs. by A. O., 1937, for “L. G.”. 2 For rules under this section, see the different local R. and O. 3 The words “and also for the destruction of such books, papers and documents as need no longer be kept” omitted by the Destruction of Records Act, 1917 (5 of 1917), s. 6 and Sch. 4 For Part XIA: Of the Copying of Documents by means of Photography, ins. for Bombay Presidency, see the Indian Registration (Bombay Amendment) Act, 1930 (17 of 1930), s. 3. The proviso to s. 70B of that Part was omitted by A. O., 1937. 5 New Part XIA ins. by the Registration (Amdt.) Ordinance, 1962 (45 of 1962), s. 17. 70-C. Appointment of Photo-Registrars.—The Provincial Government may appoint a Registrar or Sub-Registrar or any other person to be a Photo-Registrar for the performance of duties under this Part: Provided that the Provincial Government may, subject to such restrictions and conditions as it thinks fit, delegate the power of appointing Photo-Registrars to the Inspector-General of Registration. 70-D. Documents may be photographed in areas notified by Government.—(1) The provincial Government may, by notification in the official Gazatte, direct that in any district or sub district specified in the notification copies of documents admitted to registration under this Act shall be made by means of Photography.

(2)On the issue of such notification it shall be translated into 1 * * * Urdu, 1* * * and shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the registration offices affected by the notification. 70-E. Application of Act to areas notified under section 70-D.—In any district or sub-district in respect of which a notification has been issued under section 70-D, the provisions of this Act shall, for the purposes of this Part, be subject to the following modifications, namely :

(1)(a) Every document admitted to registration under section 35 or section 41 shall on every page

(i)be signed in the presence of the registering officer by the person or any one of the persons presenting the document for registration; and

(ii)be carefully marked with an identification stamp and the serial number of the document.

(b)it shall then be transmitted by the registering officer, unless he is himself the Photo- Registrar, to the Photo-Registrar, and the registering officer or the Photo-Registrar, as the case may be, shall cause each side of each page of such document together with all stamps, endorsements, seals, signatures, thumb-impressions and certificates appearing thereon to be photographed without subtraction or alteration. He may for this purpose cut or untie, without breaking any seals, the thread or ribbon, if any, wherewith the pages of the document are sewn together, in order to separate the pages of the document, and, as soon as the document has been photographed, he shall, as far as practicable, exactly rebind the document as before, and, if he has cut the thread or ribbon shall seal it over the joint with his seal: Provided that the party presenting the document for registration shall, if he so desires, be allowed to be present and watch the unbinding, rebinding and sealing of the document: Provided further that if the party presenting the document so requests the document shall be returned to him unbound: The words “Bengali in the case of the Province of East Pakistan, and in” and “in the case of the Province of West Pakistan,” omitted by F.A.O. 1975, 1 Art. 2 ,and Sch. Provided also that before or after transmission of the document to the Photo-Registrar the party presenting the document may require the registering officer to have it copied by hand under section 52, or if the document has been presented for registration under section 19 its translation copied under section 62 on payment of an additional copying fee.

(c)There shall then be prepared and preserved the negative and at least one Photographic print and to each such negative and print the Photo-Registrar shall fix his signature and seal in token of the exact correspondence of the copy to the original document, as admitted for registration: Provided that when more than one such negative is recorded on one length of film and the Photo- Registrar has affixed his signature and seal at the end of such length of film certifying in the manner prescribed by rules made in this behalf, the exact correspondence of all copies on such length of film with the original documents, the Photo-Registrar shall be deemed to have affixed his signature and seal to each such negative on such length of film.

(d)One set of such prints arranged in the order of their serial numbers shall be made up into books and sewnor bound together. To each such book the Registrar or sub-Registrar shall prefix a certificate of the serial numbers it contains, and the books shall then be preserved in the records of the Sub-Registrar. The negatives shall be preserved in such suitable place as the Inspector-General may prescribe.

(2)All words and expressions used in the Act with reference to the making of copies of documents by hand or the entering or filing of documents or memoranda in books provided under section 16 shall, so far as may be necessary, be construed as referring to the making of such copies by means of photography or the entering or filing of documents or memoranda in books made up of copies prepared by means of photography.

(3)Where this Part applies the sections mentioned below shall be deemed to be modified as follows :

(a)in section 19 the words “and also by a true copy” shall be omitted;

(b)sub­section (4) of section 21 shall be omitted;

(c)the words “according to the order of its admission” occurring in clause(c) of sub­ section(1) of section 52 shall be omitted;

(d)section 53 shall be omitted;

(e)in sub­section (1) of section 60 the words “and page” shall be omitted;

(f)sub­section (1) of section 61 shall be omitted; and

(g)in sub-section (1) of section 62,

(i)for the word “transcribed” the word “copied” shall be substituted; and

(ii)for the words and figures “copy referred to in section 19” the words “photograph of the original” shall be substituted. 70-F. The Inspector-General may, with the previous approval of the Provincial Government, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules for the purposes of giving effect to the provisions of this Part.] PART XII OF REFUSAL TO REGISTER