High Court Test 12
10 min40 WPM required448 words
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The law governing the transfer of property in India is primarily contained in the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, which codifies the rules applicable to the transfer of both movable and immovable property by act of parties — as distinguished from transfer by operation of law through inheritance, insolvency, or court decree. The Transfer of Property Act defines a transfer of property as an act by which a living person conveys property to one or more living persons, or to himself and one or more other living persons, in the present or in the future, and lays down the conditions that must be satisfied for a valid transfer. Immovable property, which broadly encompasses land, buildings, and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to things attached to the earth, is subject to special rules on account of its distinctive nature. A sale of immovable property is the transfer of ownership in exchange for a price paid or promised to be paid, and requires a registered instrument under the Registration Act, 1908 when the value of the immovable property exceeds the prescribed threshold. A mortgage is the transfer of an interest in immovable property for the purpose of securing the payment of money advanced by way of loan or an existing or future debt or the performance of an engagement that may give rise to a pecuniary liability. The Transfer of Property Act recognises six types of mortgage — simple mortgage, mortgage by conditional sale, usufructuary mortgage, English mortgage, mortgage by deposit of title deeds, and anomalous mortgage — each with different characteristics regarding possession, income, redemption, and enforcement. The equity of redemption, the right of the mortgagor to redeem the mortgaged property upon payment of the mortgage debt, is a fundamental principle of mortgage law, and any provision in the mortgage deed that clogs or fetters the right of redemption is void. A lease is a transfer of the right to enjoy immovable property for a certain time or in perpetuity in consideration of a price paid or promised to be paid periodically, the parties to a lease being the lessor and the lessee. The Transfer of Property Act lays down the rights and liabilities of both parties under a lease and provides rules on termination of leases by efflux of time, merger, express surrender, forfeiture, and insolvency. A gift under the Act is the transfer of certain existing movable or immovable property made voluntarily and without consideration, by one person called the donor to another called the donee, and a gift of immovable property must be effected by a registered instrument signed by or on behalf of the donor and attested by at least two witnesses.