Sale and an agreement to sell

Section 54 permits a price paid, promised, or partly paid and partly promised. The distinction is between transferring ownership and agreeing that a later sale will occur on settled terms. A receipt, advance payment or possession is not a universal substitute for the required instrument.

The central text requires a registered instrument for tangible immovable property valued at one hundred rupees and upwards and for a reversion or other intangible thing. That historical statutory threshold must not be treated as a modern stamp-duty or registration-fee calculation; state amendments and registration law matter.

Section 55 sets out default rights and duties of seller and buyer, including disclosure, documents, possession and payment, unless there is a contract to the contrary. Sections 56 and 57 address marshalling for a subsequent purchaser and court arrangements for encumbrances; they are not an automatic guarantee that a property is unencumbered.