India, Oct. 23 -- The Maharashtra government has tightened land registration rules to prevent the sale of jointly held land without other co-owners' knowledge or consent. Under the new procedure, sellers must submit co-owners' consent or no-objection certificates (NOCs) to register sale deeds involving land recorded under a common property card or 7/12 extract.

A government circular issued by the state revenue department on October 19 now forbids sub-registrars to register sales deeds without the required documents. "The written consent of co-owners of jointly held properties must be obtained and made part of the document submitted for registration. If the written consent of the co-owners is not attached to the document, it will not be r...