An entrenched coterie of document writers, agents, and officials is making citizens pay more than they ought to for availing themselves of various public services from sub-registrar offices in Kerala, according to the Vigilance and Corruption Bureau (VACB).
The agency, which conducted surprise checks at 72 sub-registrar offices across Kerala on Thursday (August 7, 2025) evening in an operation codenamed Secure Land, claimed it found that a corrupt nexus coerced citizens to pay sizeable backhanders for availing themselves of basic and critical services such as registration of various documents, including those concerning immovable properties such as land and buildings.
Vigilance and Corruption Bureau officials conducting raids on a sub-registrar office at Kazhakuttam in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday evening | Photo Credit: special arrangement
“The corrupt network ensured that citizens who approached the sub-registrar offices, dodging the agent network, faced delays and rejection of their petitions on flimsy grounds”, an official said.
Loan sharking
