The rule, returnable in two weeks, came upon a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a citizen challenging the legality of certain amendments to the Acts, which were made effective from July 1.

The amendments made it mandatory for the legal heirs to pay registration fees during sharing of property even inherited as gift and imposing preconditions for transfer.

The petitioner, AK Noor Mohammad, submitted that the provision for compulsory registration fees on gifted property (heba) and ancestral land are guided by the principles of Muslim Sharia Law based on the Holy Quran and Hadith, which cannot be changed or overridden.

Keeping unchanged the Laws of Transfer of Property Act, State Acquisition Act and Civil Procedure Code with regard to transfer of property, the new provisions are not applicable and in violation of fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution, the petitioner contended.