Insertion of new sections 70A, 70B and 70C

After section 70, the following shall be inserted, namely:–– ‘PART XIA REGISTRATION OF DOCUMENTS BY MEANS OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES 70A. This Part shall apply to the areas only in respect of which a notification is issued by the Government under section 70B. 70B.

1. (1) The Government may, by notification, direct that in any office as may be specified therein, the process of registration of any category or categories of documents may be completed and copying done with the help of the electronic devices like computers, scanners and the compact disks and copies preserved on such devices and retrieved when required.
2. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law for the time being in force in the Union territory, a copy of any document registered and scanned using electronic devices and certified or attested by the registering officer in-charge of the office, shall be admissible as evidence of any transaction as is described in the said document.
3. (3) The registration and authentication of electronic records shall be carried out using secure authentication mechanisms, including, but not limited to––
   • (a) “electronic signature” as defined in clause (ta) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000;
   • (b) Aadhaar based e-authentication under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016; and
   • (c) any other form of digital verification as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
4. (4) All data storage, processing and retrieval under this section shall comply with the provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, including appropriate data protection, encryption, access control, audit trails and cyber security protocols to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability of personal and sensitive data.
5. (5) The Government shall ensure periodic review and updating of the technological infrastructure and protocols used for electronic registration and document management, in alignment with the prevailing national cyber security standards and data protection laws. 70C. Nothing contained in this Part shall apply,––
   • (i) to any document, which in the opinion of registering officer, is not in a fit condition to be processed by means of electronic devices; and
   • (ii) in the case of unforeseen eventuality like breakdown of the computerised system of registration: Provided that the registering officer shall record the reasons therefor in writing: Provided further that the registering officer shall ensure that the data and images of the documents registered during the period of non-application of this Part, due to a breakdown of the computerised system, are duly incorporated into the computer system, after the same is restored, in such manner as may be prescribed.’.