Documents relating to Title scrutiny and their meaning in respect to agricultural land

Before a person purchases an immovable property there are a lot of documents that needs to be looked into in order to verify and establish the title and ownership of the seller. In Karnataka there are so many different documents and it is important to know what exactly these documents are. To a layman all these documents can be foreign. 

The law that governs immovable property through out India is the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. Other than this, the State legislations have to be taken into consideration to verify the title to a property claimed by its owner. I am going to limit the explanation to the documents we have in Karnataka. There are a few documents that are unique to a particular kind of property i.e.,the kind of properties being agricultural land, urban land, residential sites and apartments. Here I will deal only with documents relating to agricultural property.

The title to a property can be conferred on a person by various means, for example, by way of sale, gift, succession etc. Thus a title deed is a legal document that proves how the person has come to acquire the right of ownership over that property. 

Documents in relation to agricultural land.

A.  Mother Deed

Mother deed can take the form of any of the following documents, like a gift deed, partition deed, sale deed, settlement deed, court decree, grant by the government etc. It enables one to trace the ownership of the land and the flow of title to the property upto the present owner.

B.   Encumbrance Certificate

It reflects the encumbrance on the property (if any) like mortgage, lien, charge etc. It further discloses the title of documents registered in respect of the property, the parties to the deed, the registered number of the document, the Book Number, volume and pages.  It is issued in Form No.15/16 from the office of the Sub-Registrar exercising relevant jurisdiction over the property in question.

C.  Record of rights, tenancy and crop inspection (RTC) or Phani

This document contains details about Survey Number, Sub Survey Number, 

the extent of Kharab land, if any, nature of soil. It mentions the name of the cultivator, the year and the crop grown and the extent thereon, existence of the trees in the property. It shows the place where the land in question is situated.

It also contains names of present and past owners and their respective holdings, names of tenants. It has an encumbrance column which shows the encumbrance over the property, i.e.,  any mortgage or charge on the property, the status of land i.e., if it is Inam land or not, if the land is converted from agricultural to non-agricultural purpose, the RTC will reflect the Conversion Order number and date of conversion and if there has been change in ownership it will reflect mutation and inheritance certificates. This document is issued by the village accountant.

D.    Mutation Extract

It contains the extract from the mutation register or inheritance certificate with details of the present and previous owners, the mode in which property was acquired, the extent of the land and the order stating that Khatha can be transferred in the name of present owner. It is issued by the Village Accountant or Tahsildar.

E.  Record of Rights and Index of Land Extract

It contains details regarding the owners of the land and details about the land. These documents are not issued by the revenue authorities anymore.

F.   Patta Book

A Patta book contains information in respect to the payment of land revenue and other Government dues and information regarding cultivation and areas of crop sown in it. 

F. Family Tree or Vamshavriksha

It indicates the genealogical tree in the form of a flow chart. It shows the names and age of the family members, the present and past owners of the land and also indicates whether the members are living or dead. This ensures further that all the claimants to the property are identified. It is certified by the Village Accountant or the Revenue Inspector

G.  Akarbandh

It is a sketch which is issued by the Survey Department. It shows the survey number, total extent of the land, the boundaries and classification of the land and also the revenue assessment details.

I.  Hissa Tippani Book Extract

This document is a survey record issued by the Assistant Director of Land Records. it shows the sketch of the entire survey number, its total area of the survey number, the extent of kharab land and net cultivable area along with its bifurcated portions and the names of owners of each sub-survey number and the relevant entry in the mutation registers pertaining to each owner.

J.   Tippani

It is issued by the Survey Department. It is a sketch of the property comprised in a single survey number without any bifurcations into sub survey numbers. It discloses the measurements of the property.

K.  Phodi Extract

Phodi means sub-divided fields. The phodi extract is issued by the Survey Department. It indicates the bifurcation made on a survey number into sub-survey numbers.

L.   Atlas copy

It is issued by the survey department. Atlas is also a sketch of the property in question issued in respect of any survey number after its bifurcation from a parent survey number.It discloses the measurements of the property.

M.   Saguvali chit

It is nothing but a grant certificate. It states to whom the grant is made and the conditions such grant is subjected to. It further states the rights and liabilities of the grantee and also the rights of the government. Is is issued only in case the land is a grant land.

N.   Village Map 

This is issued by the Survey Department. It indicates the map of the village in which the property in question is situated.

O.   Hudbust Register Extract 

It is a sketch issued by the Survey Department clearly showing the boundaries fixed on the land marked by boundary stones.

P.    Kharab Uttaru Extract 

It is a document issued by the Survey Department which indicates the extent of kharab land in the property in question and the classification of the kharab land as ‘A’ Kharab or ‘B’ Kharab.

Q.   Karda Copy

This document shows that the occupant or the eldest or principal of several joint occupants, whose name is entered in the Government records, as holding unalienated land, whether in person or by his co-occupant, tenant, agent, servant or other legal representatives.

R.  Form No. 7 and 7A Endorsements issued by the Tahsildar

The Tahsildar issues this endorsement stating that no tenancy claims have been filed in Form No.7 or 7A in respect of the property in question pending before the Land Tribunal constituted for this purpose.

S.    RR Balabagada Nakalu

The Assistant Director of Land Records issues this survey record showing the name of the owner, the total extent of land, the extent of kharab land and the net extent of land in respect of sub-survey number after the parent survey number has been bifurcated.

T.   79AB Endorsement issued by the Assistant Commissioner

It is an endorsement that contains a statement that there are no proceedings under Section 79A or B of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961, in respect of the property in question.

U.    P.T.C.L Endorsement

The Tahsildar issues this endorsement stating that no proceedings have been initiated against the present owner of the property under the provisions of the Karnataka Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978.