Interpretation-clause
Section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 deals with interpretation-clause. In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context,-- "immoveable property" does not include standing timber, growing crops or grass; The Act came into force on 01 Jul 1882.
In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context,--
"immoveable property" does not include standing timber, growing crops or grass; "instrument", means a non-testamentary instrument;
1 ["attested", in relation to an instrument, means and shall be deemed always to have meant attested by two or more witnesses each of whom has seen the executant sign or affix his mark to the instrument, or has seen some other person sign the instrument in the presence and by the direction of the executant, or has received from the executant a personal acknowledgement of his signature or mark, or of the signature of such other person, and each of whom has signed the instrument in the presence of the executant; but it shall not be necessary that more than one of such witnesses shall have been present at the same time, and no particular form of attestation shall be necessary;]
"registered" means registered in 2[3[any part of the territories] to which this Act extends] under the laws4 for the time being in force regulating the registration of documents;
"attached to the earth" means--
(a) rooted in the earth, as in the case of trees and shrubs;
(b) imbedded in the earth, as in the case of walls or buildings; or
(c) attached to what is so imbedded for the permanent beneficial enjoyment of that to which it is attached;
5["actionable claim" means a claim to any debt, other than a debt secured by mortgage of immoveable property or by hypothecation or pledge of moveable property, or to any beneficial interest in moveable property not in the possession, either actual or constructive, of the claimant, which the Civil Courts recognise as affording grounds for relief, whether such debt or beneficial interest be existent, accuring, conditional or contingent;]
6["a person is said to have notice"] of a fact when he actually knows that fact, or when, but for wilful abstention from an enquiry or search which he ought to have made, or gross negligence, he would have known it.
Explanation 1.--Where any transaction relating to immovable property is required by law to be and has been effected by a registered instrument, any person acquiring such property or any part of, or share or interest in, such property shall be deemed to have notice of such instrument as from the date of registration or, 7[where the property is not all situated in one sub-district, or where the registered instrument has been registered under sub-section (2) of section 30 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908 (16 of 1908), from the earliest date on which any memorandum of such registered instrument has been filed by any Sub-Registrar within whose sub-district any part of the property which is being acquired, or of the property wherein a share or interest is being acquired, is situated:]
Provided that--
(1) the instrument has been registered and its registration completed in the manner prescribed by the Indian. Registration Act, 1908 (16 of 1908) and the rules made thereunder,
(2) the instrument 8[or memorandum] has been duly entered or filed, as the case may be, in books kept under section 51 of that Act, and
(3) the particulars regarding the transaction to which the instrument relates have been correctly entered in the indexes kept under section 55 of that Act.
Explanation II.--Any person acquiring any immoveable property or any share or interest in any such property shall be deemed to have notice of the title, if any, of any person who is for the time being in actual possession thereof.
Explanation III.--A person shall be deemed to have had notice of any fact if his agent acquires notice thereof whilst acting on his behalf in the course of business to which that fact is material:
Provided that, if the agent fraudulently conceals the fact, the principal shall not be charged with notice thereof as against any person who was a party to or otherwise cognizant of the fraud.]
Section 3, The Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (Act 4 of 1882).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
Referred to by 37
- Andhra Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act s. 2 Definitions - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires
- Arunachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act s. 2
- Arunachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act s. 2
- Assam Goods and Services Tax Act s. 2
- Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act s. 2
- Central Goods and Services Tax Act s. 2 Definitions
- Chhattisgarh Goods and Services Tax Act s. 2
- Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act s. 2
- Goa Goods and Services Tax Act s. 2 Definitions
- Gujarat Goods and Services Tax Act s. 174
- Haryana Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 (19 of 2017) s. 2
- Himachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act s. 2 Definitions
and 25 more
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Union Of India vs Future Gaming Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Service tax is not leviable on the activity of promotion, marketing, organizing, or facilitating the organization of lottery tickets by distributor-assessees because: (1) the relationship between the State of Sikkim and the respondent-assessees is on a principal-to-principal basis (not principal-agent), as evidenced by guaranteed minimum payments, bearing of all financial risk, no state indemnification, independent appointment of sub-distributors, and wholesale purchase pricing; (2) lottery activities constitute betting and gambling, which is exclusively reserved to state governments under Entry 62 of List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, and Parliament lacks legislative competence to impose service tax on this activity using its residuary power under Entry 97 of List I; (3) lottery tickets are actionable claims, and transactions in actionable claims are excluded from the definition of service under Section 65B(44) and the Negative List in Section 66D of the Finance Act 1994; and (4) multiple parliamentary amendments attempting to redefine lottery distribution as a taxable service cannot alter the substantive principal-to-principal relationship or the constitutional division of taxation powers between Union and States.
On this section: Definition of actionable claim applicable to Finance Act
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The Sub Registrar Amudalavalasa vs Dankuni Steels LTD
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a single sale deed purports to convey multiple distinct matters including land, building, and plant and machinery permanently embedded to earth, the entire transaction must be examined by reading the preamble, recitals, operative part and schedule together. If the underlying transaction (such as an auction sale) was for all assets as a composite lot, and the parties' conduct indicates intention to operate the unit as a going concern, then plant and machinery permanently embedded to earth constitutes immovable property subject to stamp duty under Section 5 of the Indian Stamp Act. The registering authorities have power under Section 27 (as amended) and Section 47A to verify the true value and nature of property transferred and to refer the matter to the Collector for determination of market value and proper stamp duty payable. The mere fact that the sale deed describes only land and buildings does not permit avoidance of stamp duty liability on plant and machinery that was actually transferred as part of the composite transaction.
On this section: Definition of immovable property - does not include standing timber, growing crops or grass
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Residents Welfare Association, Noida vs State of U. P
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When immovable property held on lease is transferred by assignment of leasehold rights, Article 63 of Schedule 1-B of the Indian Stamp Act applies, requiring stamp duty to be calculated on the consideration stated in the deed, not on the market value of the property. Section 47-A, which permits reference to the Collector for determining market value in cases of undervaluation, is inapplicable to lease assignments as it presupposes an outright conveyance under Article 23. The relevant date for determining the consideration is the date of the agreement to transfer when consideration was frozen, not the date of presentation of documents for registration, provided the delay in execution is caused by the lessor's failure and the transferee is not at fault. Buildings attached to leasehold land that are governed by the covenants of the lease deed and subject to the lessor's right of reversion form part of the leasehold assignment and cannot be treated as separate subject matter of absolute sale.
On this section: Applied to establish that when immovable property such as land is transferred by assignment of lease, all appurtenances thereto (buildings, fixtures) also stand assigned
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Babu Singh vs Ram Sahai @ Ram Singh
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Section 69 of the Indian Evidence Act can be invoked only when it is established through proper evidence (sworn testimony, not mere counsel statements) that no attesting witness can be found, and all available court processes under Order 16 Rule 10 CPC to compel attendance have been exhausted. A bare statement made through counsel that a witness has gone abroad, without supporting evidence, without service of summons, and without any attempt to invoke coercive processes, is insufficient to trigger Section 69. The ordinary mode of proof under Section 68 requiring examination of attesting witnesses must be strictly adhered to unless and until the prerequisites for Section 69 are substantively and procedurally satisfied. Handwriting expert evidence must be based on properly proved standard signatures, not on signatures taken from documents whose authenticity is itself in question.
On this section: Attestation requirements must be in conformity with this section for valid property transfer through will
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R.l.kapoor vs State
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a higher court reverses an order of discharge passed by a lower court at the charge-framing stage, it must provide detailed reasoning based on a proper consideration of the material on record. The reversal cannot be based on factually incorrect premises or conclusions without supporting reasons. Furthermore, charges must be framed in accordance with the procedural requirements of Sections 212 and 213 CrPC, containing specific particulars for each accused. If these requirements are not met, the revision petition must be remanded to the lower court for fresh consideration on merits with proper opportunity for all parties to be heard.
On this section: Definition of 'attested' in relation to property documents; relevant to understanding the role of attesting witnesses
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… only after the death of his father leaving behind the suit property, but in the instant case defendant no.1 had already sold the suit property to the petitioners before his death in the year 1990 and hence the claim of the plaintiff was absolutely frivolous. In this connection he relied upon Explanation II of Section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 as well as on a decision of Madras High Court in case of The Additional Commissioner of Income Tax Madras- 1. Versus P.L. Karuppan Chettiar, reported in A.I.R. 1979 Madras 1, and also on a decision of the Hon'ble Apex Court in case of Commissioner of Wealth Tax, Kanpur, Versus. …
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… only after the death of his father leaving behind the suit property, but in the instant case defendant no.1 had already sold the suit property to the petitioners before his death in the year 1990 and hence the claim of the plaintiff was absolutely frivolous. In this connection he relied upon Explanation II of Section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 as well as on a decision of Madras High Court in case of The Additional Commissioner of Income Tax Madras- 1. Versus P.L. Karuppan Chettiar, reported in A.I.R. 1979 Madras 1, and also on a decision of the Hon'ble Apex Court in case of Commissioner of Wealth Tax, Kanpur, Versus. …
Questions about Section 3
What have the courts held on Section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act?
Union Of India vs Future Gaming Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (18 Sep 2024) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Definition of actionable claim applicable to Finance Act. Another 4 judgments on this section are set out below, 4 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2008 to 2024.
How do I find court cases under Section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: TP Act 3, section 3 TP Act, section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 5 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Union Of India vs Future Gaming Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (18 Sep 2024).
What should I read with Section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on Indian Registration Act 1908 30 (Date of registration to be entered in Indexes), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 37 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When did Section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act come into force?
Section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act, cited as TP Act 3, came into force on 01 Jul 1882, having been enacted on 17 Feb 1882. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 55. Rights and liabilities of buyer and seller1096 words
- 108. Rights and liabilities of lessor and lessee1030 words
- 69A. Appointment of receiver892 words
- 35. Election when necessary614 words
- 58. Mortgage , mortgagor , mortgagee , mortgage-money and mortgage- deed defined554 words
- 76. Liabilities of mortgagee in possession533 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.