OTP rule for reconveyance deeds leaves Karnataka home loan borrowers stranded
Bengaluru: Home loan borrowers across Karnataka are facing delays in securing reconveyance deeds as banks and registration authorities remain at odds over the implementation of OTP-based verification under the state’s Kaveri 2.0 system.
As per a report published by Deccan Herald, the department of stamps and registration has made Aadhaar-based OTP authentication mandatory for both property owners and bank officials while processing reconveyance deeds, a document required to formally remove a bank’s charge on a property after a loan is fully repaid. However, many bank branch managers have been reluctant to share OTPs sent to their personal mobile numbers, citing the absence of formal guidelines from the Reserve Bank of India or the state government and fears of fraud or future legal liability.
Until about a month ago, officials of nationalised banks were exempt from appearing in person at sub-registrar offices or providing OTPs. Earlier, banks executed reconveyance deeds using branch TIN numbers along with Aadhaar details of authorised officials. The sudden shift to OTP-based verification has disrupted the process, leaving property owners unable to complete registration formalities, which are essential for resale, mutation and other transactions.
Officials from the stamps and registration department said the change was introduced to curb fraudulent applications, including cases where reconveyance deeds were sought without full repayment of loans. Inspector General of Registration and Commissioner of Stamps Mullai Muhilan M P said the move was in line with Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, which mandates identity verification. He maintained that the process had not been made more complex and that applications generated through citizen logins did not require separate government orders to banks.
Property owners, however, have complained that navigating the Kaveri 2.0 portal has become difficult without assistance, pushing many to depend on agents. The department has rejected claims that the system is complicated, stating that the intent is to discourage the use of middlemen.
Bank officials remain cautious. Some said they were uncomfortable sharing OTPs with customers or agents, as banks routinely advise against disclosing such information. An assistant manager at a State Bank of India branch in Hubballi said the risk of misuse was unclear, particularly when OTPs were linked to personal Aadhaar numbers. Another branch manager from Dharwad said she was questioned by the Lokayukta over multiple property transactions associated with her Aadhaar after she had shared several OTPs in a single day.
The Karnataka State Level Bankers’ Committee’s convenor, M Bhaskara Chakravarthy, who is also general manager at Canara Bank, told DH that banks had not received any official communication on the matter. He added that, in view of the difficulties faced by borrowers, officers had been orally advised to cooperate with property owners until clarity emerges.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
