June 3, 2018
Legal Suggestion Needed : Comment
I Purchased a piece of Land about 8 years ago from one of my friend. After that, i built my house on that piece of land and start living peacefully. Now the issue is that in good faith, ‘registry’ of that land was not done ( Ownership was not transferred to me) as he the seller was a know person to me but i had paid all sum of money to him at that time which was demanded by me for the land.
Now today, he is blackmailing me that the ownership of land is on his name, so either again give money for that land on today’s rate of leave the house. I have my house from last 7 years on that land as i had paid him the price 7 years ago but now for registry of that land, he is demanding money from today’s increased rate.
What should i do now?
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Do you posses any Agreement to sell or sale deed executed in your favour?? If so, then only you can file a civil Suit for specific performance in Civil Court.
Vikas khatkar
Panjab University, Chandigarh
In this problem..adverse possession will apply
Adverse possession is a doctrine under which a person in possession of land owned by someone else may acquire valid title to it, so long as certain common law requirements are met, and the adverse possessor is in possession for a sufficient period of time, as defined by a statute of limitations.
Statute of Limitations
A typical statute requires possession for 7 years, if under color of title, or 20 years if not. The threshold, however, varies by jurisdiction.
As per law the registry should have been done at the same time though the intention was an bonafide one and it is the very basic fact that any registry can be done only when the intention is bonafide and not malafide also as per Indian Contract Act 1872 any contract is considered to be valid only if it is based on bonafide intention and not on malafide intention. Moreover wrt the above given problem the purchaser will not get any remedy from court as the piece of land was not registered in his name.
First of all registration is a very important step and one should never be negligent.
You are living in that house from the last 8 Years so You must be paying all the electricity / Water / Maintenace bills .
On those bills Your name must be there as You are the one Paying .
You can use those bills as a proof .
As the land was purchased from your friend and land registry was not done, your friend can acquire his ownership because the land was sold to and was used by you since 7 years continuously and also constructed the house at tbe beginning of the 7 years so yoi have “color of title” which means you have acquired legal title of that land not the ownership. As 12 years time is required for establishment of adverse possesion as stipulated in Limitation Act, 1963 so you have to make a land registry otherwise the ownership lies within your friend and he can claim. But you can sue him for blackmailing under section 503 of IPC i.e., criminal intimidation.
Land registry is definitely needed even if it is a gift deed like in this case it was given from one friend to the other in “good faith”. That is no excuse from not getting the land registered. Registration is done to make sure that there is no case of fraudulent activities that can arise from it. Unregistered deed has no legal sanctity. However, a petition can be filed saying that the original owner of the land is claiming the land back but at the present day price. Relief should be given to the petitioner by letting him pay the original price of the land.
12 years is for transfer of ownership irrespective of whether the land is sold or not.
Here it is the sale of the property. So you just need to prove that you have paid the amount for the ownership of property. And both parties, at that time, intended the payment to be in furtherance of the sale agreement.
Can retain the possession as adverse possession as a defence
You get all the payment receipts of the price by which you have built the house by your own and then you demand him to pay back all as presuming that you have favoured him by creating a nice house for him. Let it be his land. But at the end draft a note assuming that you had a contract to built a house for him and get the money as per today’s increased price
See for any transfer of property; one need to fulfil three criterion I. E. It should be in writing; duly attested and registered.
In the absence of these 3 one would not be able to have ownership of land.
First of all, this case is solely depends upon fiduciary relationship between both the parties also the person who has acquired the land since 7 years would be at fault as he didn’t made registry of the land when he bought it. moreover as the law solely believes on evidences henceforth if I can present my evidences which proves that I have paid all the sum evidences can be such that an agreement made between both the parties , or may be if I will able to produce witnesses who were there at the time of there mutual selling and buying of land …then only court can provide the relief to the person’I’ otherwise he may left the land or as per the desires of the owner may pay the due amount. Because till the time registry take place till then ownership will be only in the other parties hand.
According to Section 17 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908, it is mandatory to register the documents.
If you fail to register the property, the previous owner or the developer will be considered the legal and rightful owner. Legally, the sale of property won’t be considered valid till the sale deed is duly stamped and registered. The basic purpose of registration is to record the ownership of the flat or land.Impact of non-registration
Failure to register the purchase agreement of a property, could put you at a huge risk. Any document that is mandatorily required to be registered but is not registered, cannot be admitted as evidence in any court of law.
Court accpets documentary evidence.
And the aggrieved party has no documents to prove that he had given money to the other party and any other documents. He has to pay the money in today’s rate if he has no other means to prove himself in court of law.
The remedy which you have to get the immovable property registered is to sue the seller for the specific performance of the agreement to sell as you have performed your part of the agreement and now it is his turn to do the same. Moreover, you may produce the electronic evidence of the recording of the seller blackmailing you (if you have), which will strengthen your contention (as it can be used as an admission if the court deems fit) as well as you may be entitled to damages.
If you want that you want your money back, then you may sue the seller for the actionable claim of the money which is forwarded to him in lieu of paying the consideration for the sale of the desired immovable property.
With this, you may also file the suit for the declaration of title and can request from the Hon’ble court to ask the seller to perform his duty and enforce the right of the seller as have been laid down under TPA.
To know about the reasoning behind the aforementioned suggestions, please read the following contentions provided beneath, for your reference.
LEGAL POSITION
To quote at first instance, a transfer of property means an act by which a living person (Legal Personality or Natural persons) conveys (mode by which new titles are conferred or created) property, in present or in future, to one or more other living persons, or to himself and one or more other living persons; and “to transfer property” is to perform such act, as provided by Section 5 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (hereinafter referred as “TPA”).
And there are different modes by virtue of which immovable property can be transferred. One of such mode is “SALE”, which is adopted in this case for the transfer of the tangible immovable property. The sale is that mode in which the transfer takes place in lieu of the consideration of price either paid or promised.
According to Section 54 of TPA, “Sale” of tangible immovable property which worth more than ₹100 can only be made with the registered instrument (as made mandatory after 2001 amendment to the aforementioned act) as has been prescribed under the Indian Registration Act of 1908 and the Indian Stamps Act of 1899.
Analysing the situation, where it has been 8 years that the purchaser has paid full amount of consideration and in lieu of the performance of his part he has built the house on the land which was sold by the buyer, but as the buyer was a friend of him, the registration of such land was not made per the guidelines of the desired enactment (which is the sole essence of the transfer and forms the part of conveyance). After a long period of 7 years, the original seller is now blackmailing, on the ground that if he will pay again the full amount then only the registration will be affected in his name.
In this situation, the purchaser is a bonafide buyer who can have two remedies for this issue. The first one would entail that the buyer would institute a suit for specific performance of the unregistered sale deed. This can be shown and proved by the pieces of evidence of withdrawal of sale consideration by the seller and the deposit of the same by the buyer. Another thing is that he has been in peaceful enjoyment in the house that is built by the buyer on the land purchased, which clearly shows the intention of the seller in respect of the sale made.
Moreover, after the consideration is paid, it is the duty of the seller to forward the title deed, register the sale and make the conveyance and it is the right of the buyer to have charge of his money paid on the property. Which could also be affected by the court’s intervention (Section 55 & 56 of TPA).
The second remedy which could be availed is of the declaration of the title on the basis of the part-performance performed (which could be easily defeated by the want of registration of the sale deed), but it can be used for defending the possession.
Furthermore, it should also be noted that at present no interest or right is transferred in favour of the buyer and he cannot exercise any right which is solely authorised to be exercised by the actual owner (refer “contract for sale” u/s. 54 of TPA). As has been provided that, registration is compulsory for execution of sale deed and to make it a valid sale. It has been a long period of 8 years, within which it is to be assumed that registration should have been made, but the buyer now has to show and prove that why he was unable to make the same registered.
In another situation, where you don’t want that property and you want your money back, then you may sue the seller for the actionable claim of the money which is forwarded to him in lieu of paying the consideration for the sale of the desired immovable property (A rare situation which may arise and you are not willing to restore the tangible immovable property).
For future references, please note that non-registered sale deed is of no use and no sale is validated by it unless it is registered according to the registration and stamps laws in force for the time being in such jurisdiction. So, when making any further purchases please make sure to have the sale deed registered. [cite: Suraj Lamps & Industries Pvt. Ltd v. The State of Haryana, (2009) 7 S.C.C. 363].
See,
First of all registration of land is very important.
I am reminding you for further transactions that don’t trust anyone and do everything as per the legal requirements.
Secondly, see if there is any document regarding the transaction or any witness or any recording which you can use as a piece of evidence against the person.
Also, you are staying in that house for 7 years, you must be paying all the taxes and bills. They must be coming in your name.
Use them as piece of evidences.
Thank you.
Transfer of property Act, 1882 governs saleof immovable property. In the instant case the sale of land took place in good faith. Though the property bought without registering is considered invalid in law. Supreme Court in plethora of cases held that sale in good faith will not be considered as invalid sale or transfer. The Supreme Court in the cases of Suraj Lamp & Industries Pvt Ltd v State of Haryana, Narandas Karsondas v SA katam and Rambhau Namdeo Gajre v Narayan Bapuji Dhotra held that immovable property can be legally and lawfully transferred or conveyed only by a registered deed of conveyance. Therefore, since sale agreement, GPA and will transfers do not convey any title, they do not amount to transfers. Such transfer documents cannot be recognised as deeds of title, except under the limited extent of Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act. further it has also held that any genuine or good-faith transactions would not be invalidated by this decision.
Hence in the instant case the sale property shall be valid if in case suit has been filed against the buyer the burden lies on the buyer to proof that the sale has been made in good faith.
Sale of immovable property becomes valid after registration. In the instant case the buyer did not register the property and purchased it in good faith. The Supreme Court observed that the purchase of land in good faith shall be considered valid.Registration of title of property must be in good faith and it is clear breach of good faith under Indian contract act, 1872.
Although it held that such transactions are illegal and cannot be recognised as valid under law, the Supreme Court further sought to distinguish these illegal transactions from genuine transactions entered into by parties in good faith. While referring to Sections 53A and 54 of the Transfer of Property Act under the case ofIn Suraj Lamp & Industries Pvt Ltd v State of Haryana.
If the piece of land has been sole in good faith then it is presumed that it has registry on that land and he can claim the ownership in that land.
See,
First of all, registration of the deed was very important. I am reminding you for further transactions to not to trust anyone be it your friend or relative and do everything by fulfilling all the legal requirements.
Secondly, now what you can do is see if there is any recording, or any document or any witness whom you can use as evidence against the person.
Also, you have been living in this land for 7 long years, so you must only be paying the bills and taxes. They must be coming to your house in your name only.
You can also use them as piece of evidences.
Provided the facts of your case, that you bought the land from your friend, you should get it registered. Under section of 17 of Registration Act,1908, one needs to get land or property registered, provided the property is not in Jammu and Kashmir. You can file a case against him for criminal intimidation under Indian Penal Code. You can also prove it to the court by showing the transaction made between you both for the payment of cost of the land. In addition, if you have documents proving that the taxes implement over land have been paid by you and also for 7years your friend chose to not convey you about any such information. Also show it to the court, whether agreement for sale was made or not.
the buyer can file a civil suit under injunction as the limitation period for claiming the property is 12 years and declaration over the house so that he wont be asked to leave the house and during the case he can give the proof regarding the possession of the house by giving reciept of payment made and any legal agreement transfer of property and can examine the seller that why was he silent for the span of 8 years and now he is claiming.
Firstly, it can be argued as to why the friend did not object at the time of construction of the house on his private land.
Secondly, any records of blackmailing of present can be presented before the court.
Thirdly, any electricity bills etc with the name of the plaintiff can be show for the past 7 years showing possession.
Section 53A of the TPA deals with part performance where there must be a contract to transfer for consideration any immovable property between the transferor and transferee and the transferee taken possession of the property or any part thereof or being already in possession, continues in possession in part performance of the contract and the act of transferee has done something in part of the contract or willing to perform his part of the contract then transferor shall be debarred from enforcing against transferee. The main object or intent of this section is to prevent transferor from taking advantages on the account of non-registration of the document.
Thus even though registration of land was not done but if there exists an agreement after which the possession was delivered.. It can be admitted as a evidence in the court.
The Indian Contract Act 1872 majorly comes into play.
The party living in the house will be paying all the required taxes under his name so it can serve as a evidence as to the party never did acquire the land dishonestly.
Also the party living in the house should have kept in mind that a registry of a land is a important piece in the contract and while the payment was being demanded he should have asked for the papers that certify that the land has indeed been transferred to the respected party.
The concept of adverse possession applies in this situation. Also the party claims that the amount was transferred or given 7 years back itself. The transaction can be proven and thus the claim can be made that the payment for the said land has already been done and even then the other party failed to transfer the ownership of the land.
If you have an agreement on sale deed then you must file a suit on civil court and also, mentioned that solid reason why you didn’t made the registry.
He should have proof to show that he has built house on that property or any document like 8-A extract or light bill or water tax bill
Another option,
He can file suit of declaration and injunction against that another person
He should have proof to show that he has built house on that property or he should have document like 8-A extract or light bill or water tax bill
Another option,
He can file suit of declaration and injunction with documents like agreement of sale ,money transfer slip
In this case the doctrine of adverse possession will apply, because the buyer was having open, uninterrupted and continous possession over the land since 7 years. Adverse possession is a process by which premises can change ownership title. So here even if the seller is challenging that the property belongs to him, the buyer can aquire the property because he holded the property in an open, uninterrupted and continous manner for a specified period.
The buyer can also give evidence of the bank statements if he had paid the money to seller through cheque or transferred it into latter’s bank account.
The buyer can also produce the house tax water tax bills for evidence, if the seller claims to be the owner of that house why was he unaware with the payment of those bills since these long years.
Firstly, the Court will look into the circumstances which was one of the reason of the unregistered sale deed as because of the good faith that the party did not bother to get the ownership transferred in his name.
Secondly, the buyer is enjoying the possession of the land and has also built a house on the same clearly shows the intention of the seller and the buyer.
Thirdly, the buyer has 9/10 ownership as he has the possession and other rights with respect to that land, therefore he just need to establish the contract of sale or any agreement of sale, or any other document supporting his claim to the property, or any receipt of payment in favour of the buyer and other instances where owner has passively allowed his interest over the property.
There is an unregistered agreement to sell followed by delivery of possession of the property.
Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act will be applicable which contains provisions for part performance where there must be a contract to transfer for consideration any immovable property between the transferor and transferee and the transferee taken possession of the property or any part thereof or being already in possession, continues in possession in part performance of the contract and the act of transferee has done something in part of the contract or willing to perform his part of the contract then transferor shall be debarred from enforcing against transferee.
Thus, this section aims at preventing the transferor from taking an undue advantage of non registration of sale deed.
Section 49 of the Registration Act 1908 would also be applicable whichsays “No document required by section 17 [or by any provision of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882], to be registered shall
affect any immovable property comprised therein, or
confer any power to adopt, or
be received as evidence of any transaction affecting such property or
unless it has been registered:
[Provided that an unregistered document affection immovable property and required by this Act or the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882), to be registered may be received as evidence of a contract in a suit for specific performance under Chapter II if the Specific Relief Act, 1877 (3 of 1877), or as evidence of any collateral transaction not required to be effected by registered instrument”.
Equitable doctrine of Part Performance is thereby given a legislative sanction by the said section.
In Ajit Singh v. Vinod Kumar & Ors, FAO(OS) 504/2013 & CM 17624/2013, it was held that the unregistered agreement to sell could be received as an evidence.
In Bobba Suramma Smt. V. Pedderiddi Chandarama Smt. 1959 Andh. LT, it was held that Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act enshrines a right to a person to protect his possession as against transferor. It is equally available against person who claims under him such as heirs, assign and legal representative.
Further, in the case of irham Pal & Ors. V. Niranjan Singh & Ors., it was held by the court that on the basis of section 49 of the Registration Act, an unregistered agreement can be form the basis of a suit for specific performance. It was also stated by the court that section 17(1A) of the Registration merely declares that such an unregistered contract shall not be pressed into service for the purpose of Section 53(A) of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and thus does not, whether in specific terms or by necessary intent, prohibit the filing of a suit for specific performance based upon an unregistered agreement to sell, that records delivery of possession or is executed in favour of a person to whom possession is delivered and the proviso to Section 49 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908 put paid to any argument to the contrary.
To conclude, based on the aforementioned judgement, we can say that
“(a) a suit for specific performance, based upon an unregistered contract/agreement to sell that contains a clause recording part performance of the contract by delivery of possession or has been executed with a person, who is already in possession shall not be dismissed for want of registration of the contract/agreement;
(b) the proviso to Section 49 of the Registration Act, legitimises such a contract to the extent that, even though unregistered, it can form the basis of a suit for specific performance and be led into evidence as proof of the agreement or part performance of a contract.”
You may file specefic relief for the transfer of ownership under the specific relief act.
Acorrding to me the real intention during the time of agreement was bona-fide I even in the absence of registry both were agreed there are two types of contract 1)expressed 2)impiled so even in the absence of registry there is a valid contract as both the parties to the contract is agreed on the terms and conditions as the person holding the land made his house pays electricity bills, in his own name and the house is also registered in his own name. As the implied contract is valid in the eyes of law so without any registry or wriiten paper the dead is valid and in this case friend cannot balme or blackmail that person for extra Money after 7 years but however, according to my assumption the court will order to make a registry in favour of other person residing for 7 years and the demand for extra money will be abolished by the Court.
Possession is the 9th part of ownership and he can file a case regarding registry of land. He is living there having the possession of it and can go to the court with the poof of transactions of amount which was paid.
Further on criminal side a FIR can be logged for blackmailing.
Show your sale deed if u have it. Show electricity bill papers.tax receipt and khajna receipt. Then u can file a suit in civil court.
Supreme court sought to distinguish these illegal transactions from genuine transactions entered into by parties in good faith. While referring to Sections 53A and 54 of the Transfer of Property Act and its decisions in Narandas Karsondas v SA Kamtam and Rambhau Namdeo Gajre v Narayan Bapuji Dhotra, the Supreme Court further observed that a transfer of immovable property by way of sale can be effected only by a deed of conveyance. In the absence of a deed of conveyance (which must be duly stamped and registered as required by law), no right, title or interest in an immovable property can be transferred. The court further dealt with the importance of registering documents that record transactions of sale or transfer and the need for all states to take steps to curb malpractice, thereby reducing the circulation of unaccounted wealth (or ‘black money’) in society.
In this case you can plea that the immovable property was subjected to gift and the party holding the possession of the immovable property is maintaining the aforesaid from a period of time.You shall also submit the receipt of money which was transferred to the seller.
Adverse possession will apply. The transfer of property can be made by showing the proof of payment.
In the pretext of the situation, thhe victim/plaintiff has only option to file a civil suit in the competent civil court with a prayer for Permanent Injunction and further for direction to execute the sale deed in favour of the victim regarding the plot in dispute.
The remedy available here is of a civil suit for adverse possession in addition to permanent injunction.Further for direction to execute the sale deed in favour of the victim regarding the plot in dispute
If u have any proof of amount you paid against the land you can proof it and claim for possession and can sue the other party for blackmailing you and fraudant act as ownership is not transferred to you.
If have any proof of payment against land you can easily claim for possession and you can sue the other party for blackmailing you and for fraudant act he didn’t transferred ownership to you.
The Supreme Court had ruled last year that all property sales would be considered invalid unless the sale deed was duly stamped and registered.Registering the documents relating to the transfer, sale, lease or any other form of disposal of a property is compulsory under section 17 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908.In case of dispute if a party does not registered the property in his name he has no claim over it .
For the above problem if your friend is blackmailing you for the same then you can charge him under section 503 of IPC. In starting you have purchased a land, registry is must as you can not acquired its possession as its ownership still lies in the hands of your friend.
If you are having any documantry proof of payment against land you can claim for ownership and can sue other party for blackmailing you and for fraudulent act of other party as he didn’t transferred ownership to yoy.
Where a party is in possession of a sale deed and other documents expressly proving that such party is in possession and has been residing on the land for the past 7 years, the party can further sue the seller for specific performance with a view that he will complete his part of the contract.
The transfer is invalid as according to transfer of property act the registration is a necessary. The person with the house can still appeal in the court but according to the recent judgements of the supreme court of india the registration is needed.
In the case of Irham Pal & Ors. V. Niranjan Singh & Ors. It was held that the unregistered documents of the property cannot satisfy the condition of section 53A of Transfer of property act
But if we think from the side of the person with house he can show the complete transection details of the money transferred to the other party against property and he ( the man with possession of property) can also raise a question why the other party waited so long (7 years ) to raise the question.
The remedy is available under section 18 of registration act, 1908 which talks about instrument not compulsorily registrable and section 49 of registration act which talks about effect of non registry of property. Further section 503 also provides for the remedy of black mailing I.e criminal intimidation.
Further the seller is bound to adhere to the agreement of sale under Indian Contract Act, 1872 as he has received the consideration therefore bound by his promise and later on cannot go against his promise that is required to be executed by the seller.
The remedy is available under section 49 of registration act, 1908 – If the document is required to be compulsorily registered and if it is not registered then it will not a)effect the immovable property comprised therein
b)confer any power to adopt or
c) be received as evidence of any transaction or conferring such power
Further section 18 of the same act says that registration is not compulsory if instrument is available acknowledgeing any receipt or payment of any consideration on account of creation and extinction of any such right leases of any immovable property not exceeding one year, wills etc.
Further remedy is available under section 503 of IPC providing punishment for blackmailing I.e criminal intimidation.
This is a case of part performance given in section 53a of transfer of property act 1882 where one party is bonafide and has done some part of transfer and willing to done remaining part. The new owner cannot be removed from the property with just a ground that he has not done the registration part. So here also the new owner is bonafide and has not done the registration part because he was the friend of previous owner at that point of time. So with all the bills and by neighbours information he can be provided innocent in court.
One cannot be dispossessed by another without the interference of law. A person has to go with the legal route if he claims title over a property and not take law in his hands. You can file a case for lawful title as well as a case of criminal intimidation against the seller of your property. The evidences of your stay in the house that includes taxes as well as the sale documents or money transfer records done 8 years prior would help in attaining the title of the property in court.
The ownership can be claimed by showing the documentary proof of the payments .
However, registry is important for any immovable property purchased.
The concept of adverse possession will apply in this case as per section 53A of TPA,1882
As the buyer of land/house didn’t had any interruption from seller and had continuos possession over the land since 7 years and therefore the buyer has acquired a valid title over the land.
Also, if the buyer wants to proof himself in court of law, he can show evidences which may include electricity bills, tax payments etc of house which clearly mentions the name of buyer and not the seller and can ask if seller was in possession then why was he not paying the amounts and let the buyer bear the cost of transactions.
First of all registry is definetly required for the transfer of ownership. And one thing you can do is show that you have the possession of the land since past 8 years and you can also show the transaction of the money, unless it is paid in cash.
According to Transfer of property act transfree who owes property 7 years ago is the real owner if his attention is bonafide.According to Section 53(1A) of transfer of property act,1882 after this amendment property which is transferred must be registered under that act.
The transfer is invalid as according to transfer of property act the registration is a necessary. The person with the house can still appeal in the court for voiding the breach of trust. But its a duty of seller to transfer to the ownership after the payment, because it his duty .
Its a case of part performance in which one party full fill his part of obligation. Adverse possession is also there but the year from which ther person is acquired or lived on that land is 20year but its up to the argument. The bill of house that is maintain by him and if there is cash recipt for the purchasing of house is available, any eye witness that are present when he purchase the land.
Here, this is a Case of Part Performance which can read under section 53 A of ‘Transfer of Property Act, 1882’, where one party is bonafide and has done partial transfer of money and is willing to do the remaining part. The new owner cannot be removed from the property with just a ground that he has not done the registration part. Even here, the new owner is bonafide and has not done the registration part because the previous owner of the property happens to his friend. The new owner has enjoyed the property undisturbed for 8 years in a row and has been bearing all the expenses and paying the bills in regard to the said property, the neighbors statement can also be taken into account in order to proof for the same. If still it doesn’t works out for the new owner, he may file an Appeal for Temporary Injunction under Order 39, Rule 1.
to build on his land he has to give consent letter POA will not work
if u have any proof of money paid u can file suit that now he is not transfering into ur name
u can file 420 and 406 on him
as u r staying in that place u shld hv electric bill and ration card etc
In such a case, possession is a proof of your right on the property. The possession for a long period of time constitutes a valid title over the property which will function against the interest of the owner. This in legal terminology is referred as Adverse Possession.
Under Indian Law, by efflux of time as mentioned under Section 65 of Limitation Act, 1963, possessor is entitled to the ownership.
In the present case, since the owner did not claim his rights over the land for a longer period, he later cannot take action to recover the same. Further, you can prove your possession over the house through the bills paid like electricity, water etc.
In this case, after the receiving of payment, it is the duty of seller to register the property in the name of buyer. we can argue about performance on the part of seller. Any civil agreement for the sale of property will work as evidence. Water/electricity/maintenance bill also work as evidence of proof that you are in possession of house.
Registry is always mandatory in the case of purchase and selling of the land. Since the man was living on that land for the last seven years so he has acquired the legal title but he has no ownership. Even according to the Limitation Act, 1963, twelve years are required for the establishment of the adverse possession.
So you have to make the land registry otherwise the ownership will like with your friend and he can claim it back.
However, you can sue him for blackmailing you under the offense of criminal intimidation under Sec 503 of IPC.
In this case, it can be said that the purpose of Registry is not fulfilled. The purpose of Registry of Land is that the immovable property becomes permanent in public record. It is a kind of notice to general public.
According to Transfer of Property Act rights, title can be acquired only if the deed is registered.
Since the title is still with the owner therefore the person having land cannot say if any problem arises because it was his duty to register his land as soon as he got it .
However, Adverse possession may apply in this case . It suggests about the time limit of 12 years under which the real owner can claim for his land .
Here, the case is weak from plaintiff’s side because the main work has not been done from his side which would have given him rights over the land.
Therefore, Whenever you buy a piece of land , you need to register the same with the authority concerned, so that a legal ownership title is guaranteed to you.