This article is written by Alka Saini, pursuing a Certificate Course in Real Estate Laws from LawSikho.com.

Introduction 

According to RBI’s report on “The Indian Household Finance” around 77% of household wealth in India is invested in the real estate sector. This shows that among the numerous investment options Indians still prefer investing in real estate. One factor is that real estate is perceived as a safe investment option. 

But imagine after months of searching you finally bought a property, which could be your dream house or building for your office or your agricultural land or any other land or property; and paid for it using your hard-earned money. Later you come to know that you have been defrauded by the seller. Now you neither have the property nor your hard-earned money and on top of that you will be fighting a legal battle in the court.

 In fact, most of the pending land disputes in India are related to the validity of land titles and rightful ownership. However, if reasonable care is taken while searching and verifying land records before buying the property such fraudulent transactions can be avoided. This article seeks to explain to you how search for land and property records in India is done. 

What are Land records?

“Land records” is a common term used for all such information and data related to details of the land or property such as sale deeds, tax documents, rental documents, registration of lands, record of rights, mutation register, tenancy and crop inspection register, spatial records, transaction records etc.

Briefly, it can be said that the land records is a blend of mainly three types of data records:

1. Transactional Data: When any property or land is sold, a sale deed is formulated which is signed by the both parties i.e. buyer and seller. It basically contains details about the said property or land such as its area and its market price including all the details about the past transactions. Such deed is then registered under The Registration Act, 1908 and further sent to tehsil/taluka office to record the transfer and change the title in the land records. This process is popularly known as Mutation.
2. Textual Data: Textual data includes record of rights, mutation orders etc. Such data reflects how rights on said land or property such as ownership rights, long-term lease hold or tenancy related rights are acquired. It broadly contains:

• Details of all such persons who have acquired any right over the said property heretofore;
• What was the nature of such rights and to what extent they were exercisable;
• Details about the rent and revenue paid for the property;
• Details related to any loan taken on such property.

3. Spatial Data: A periodic survey is conducted by Survey and Settlement Department to determine geographic and geo-referenced data which includes: 

• Purpose for which land is being used; whether it is agricultural, residential or commercial;
• Boundary particulars of the property and details about its surrounding area;
• How the property is connected with roads;
• Land topology;
• Water sources nearby etc.

Establishment of Land ownership in India 

Land is an immovable property; and transfer of such immovable properties is regulated by The Transfer of Property Act, 1882. The provisions of the Act provide that through a registered document such immovable property can be further sold or transferred. These registered documents are governed by The Registration Act, 1908. But interestingly, these documents are not government guaranteed titles but barely a record of transfer.

So, ownership of a property in India is presumptive and cannot be established using a single document but various documents such as record of rights which reflects that how rights on said land or property are derived, registered sale deeds which includes all the particulars about the transacted land or property, tax receipts etc. are collectively used to establish ownership rights on property which is subject to challenge. Therefore, it becomes vital to check all such past records of a land or property before buying it to know that whether the seller of the property is actually the owner of the property or the land you are purchasing does not belong to the government or any other institution.

Searching for Land records in India

To search land records one needs to have a basic understanding of how the particular system works? What are laws that govern the land and property transactions? What must be recorded? How are the operations related to transaction of property handled? Where the spatial information of a property is kept? How is property assessment and taxation works?

In order to find out the relevant land record such information could be very handy.

Further, these records can be accessed by both manual search and online search.

Manual search

It is a fact that in India there is no uniformity in land administration. There is a significant difference in system of maintenance of land records across the different states; Each state has a different recording and management system. Thus, for preliminary search local real estate agents and local officials could be a promising source to find land and property records as they are well equipped and well versed with such local information. 

To reach out right it becomes very important to understand in which department a particular record is documented and maintained.

Where Land records are maintained?

Generally, Land records are documented and maintained in the following departments:

• The Registration Department: The main function of The Registration Department is Registration of property documents and deeds; and Evaluation and collection of stamp duty. They are responsible for registration of sale deeds, maintenance of encumbrance certificates etc. The Registration Department is headed by: 

1. Registrar at District level;
2. Sub-registrar at Block level.

• The Revenue Department: The main function of The Revenue Department is collecting land revenue and updating and maintaining revenue records. They are responsible for maintaining the Record of Rights (ROR) and mutation register. The tax registers for collection of revenue from land is also maintained by The Revenue Department. It is headed by: 

1. District Collector at District level;
2. Tehsildar at Block level;
3. Patwari at Village level.

• The Survey and Settlement Department: The spatial land records are maintained by The Survey and Settlement Department which includes village and city survey maps, the department executes timely surveys and collects land related data and updates the maps. The Survey and Settlement Department is led by: 

1. Deputy Inspector at District level;
2. Town Surveyor at Block level;
3. Village Administrative Officer at Village level.

How to get access to Land and Property records from these departments?

In order to extract these records you need to follow these steps – 

1. Firstly, you need to ascertain under which department the desired data is stored. For example, if you are searching for agricultural land records, you have to go to the Revenue Department and if you are searching non-agricultural land records, you must approach the Registration Department.
2. After ascertaining, you must find out the office under whose jurisdiction the said land or property is located; whether it is at village level, block level or district level. 
3. To get the desired Land data you have to make an application to that officer along with the prescribed fee.
4. Further, the records provided on application can be used to tally and establish authenticity of documents provided by the seller. 

Alternatively, filing a RTI application with Land Records departments to obtain such records will also serve the purpose. As the authority responsible for maintaining Land and property records is a public authority and therefore bound by the provisions of RTI. 

To file an RTI, you should know – 

• Name of the authority under whose jurisdiction said land or property lies;
• Particulars of the land or property;
• District under which such land or property is located.

Thenceforth, the application along with the prescribed fee must be sent to the concerned authority via speed post/ registered post.

Digital records

In August, 2008 the central government came up with a programme namely National Land Record Modernization Programme (NLRMP), now known as Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP). Under this programme, the purpose was to computerize the Land records including record of rights, transfers, digitize maps and upgrade the spatial records and to sustain the same. Since there is a difference in administration of land, each state has maintained a different portal where such computerized land data is available for general access of people. Almost all the states have started implementing it, but with divergent progress.

How to check Land and Property records online?

Now, to access data online, the first thing you have to do is find the relevant portal which is applicable for the state you are looking for. 

For instance, let us look at the method for checking online records for Uttar Pradesh: 

STEP 1: Visit official land record site of Uttar Pradesh http://upbhulekh.gov.in/.

Source: upbhulekh.gov.in

STEP 2: After opening the website, you will see a number of links. To access the copy of record of rights (Khatauni), you need to click “see copy of Khatauni”.

Source: upbhulekh.gov.in

STEP 3: Afterwards enter the captcha code, and then you need to select district, tehsil and village accordingly.

Source: upbhulekh.gov.in

Source: upbhulekh.gov.in

STEP 4: Then you need to enter valid credentials. You can search the records by entering any one of the following: 

• Measles/ Gata number
• Account number
• Name of the account holder
• Date of conversion

After entering the required information, click on See Evaluation button.

Source: upbhulekh.gov.in

STEP 5: After that, the details of the searched account will be displayed on the screen.

Source: upbhulekh.gov.in

If you want to check:

• Code of Revenue Village Khatauni
•  Unique code or condition of the plot/ gatas
• Status of sale of plot/gatas
•  Copy of Khatauni fractionation; 

You have to click on the relevant option available on the homepage of the website and enter the required credentials to extract the same.

Let us take another example and see the procedure for searching Land records in Gujarat.

STEP 1: Visit the official land record website of Gujarat https://anyror.gujarat.gov.in.

Source: anyror.gujarat.gov.in

Once you open the website you will see following options:  

• View land record – Rural {for rural land records}
• View land record – urban {for urban land records}
• Property search 

STEP 2: For instance, if you are looking for urban land records; you need to click on VIEW LAND RECORDS – URBAN 

Source: anyror.gujarat.gov.in

STEP 3: From drop down menu select any option you want to search by – 

• Survey number details
• Note number details
• By owner name
• By month – year 

STEP 4: Enter the valid credentials – District, City Survey Office, Ward, Survey Number and Sheet Number.

STEP 5: Enter captcha code and click on Get Record Detail to extract the required data.

Likewise, you can search for Land and Property records, for other states also by visiting the official Land records website and following the directions as provided. For reference, I have listed some of the statewide websites below: 

I.	Gujarat	https://anyror.gujarat.gov.in
II.	Karnataka	http://bhoomi.karnataka.gov.in/landrecordsonweb/
III.	Haryana	jamabandi.nic.in
IV.	West Bengal	http://banglarbhumi.gov.in/
V.	Punjab	http://plrs.org.in
VI.	Rajasthan	http://apnakhata.raj.nic.in
VII.	Uttar Pradesh	http://upbhulekh.gov.in/
VIII.	Madhya Pradesh	http://landrecords.mp.gov.in/
IX.	Maharashtra	https://www.mahabhulekh.maharashtra.gov.in/
X.	Himachal Pradesh	https://lrc.hp.nic.in/lrc/Revenue/viewlandrecords.aspx
XI.	Bihar	http://biharbhumi.bihar.gov.in/BiharBhumi/newhome2.aspx
XII.	Andhra Pradesh	https://meebhoomi.ap.gov.in/
XIII	Uttarakhand	http://bhulekh.uk.gov.in/public/public_ror/Public_ROR.jsp
IX.	Assam	https://revenueassam.nic.in/ILRMS/
XX.	Orissa	http://bhulekh.ori.nic.in/RoRView.aspx

However, the process of computerization of records is under way and it is possible that the required records are not yet uploaded on the websites or not available online; in that case you can resort to manual hard copy research.

Issues related to access to Land records.

The factors which hinder the public access to accurate and updated land records in one or the other way are discussed below:  

• First and foremost issue is that the titling system in India is not conclusive but presumptive in nature; no single document establishes the ownership rights. Ownership in India is established based on the fact that said land or property is under whose possession which is ascertained by document related to former transactional history. But such documents are not properly recorded and maintained and don’t reflect the ground state as there is a significant difference between the records held by the government and the existing position of Land ownership. 

Further, such registration is regulated by both states and centre. In order to move towards a conclusive titling system, amendments are needed in both central and state laws to streamline the gathering and maintenance of records and to make an integrated legal framework for providing land titles which are then guaranteed by the government for their accuracy.

• Secondly, land records are recorded and maintained under various departments and they function in silos. Sometimes, changes made in a department with respect to land records do not reflect in records of other departments. In such circumstances, when the data is spread across the departments and not regularly updated it becomes difficult to access land records. 

Subsequently, these un-updated land records and unclear land titles enable a person to carry out property transactions in an obscure way. Taking advantage of such inadequacy, Benami Transactions became very prevalent in India. In such transactions, property is held in the name of a person but consideration for the same is paid by another person. Benami transactions are usually backed by dishonorable motives such as defrauding the creditors, money laundering, evasion of taxes etc. However, the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 2016 outlawed and penalized benami transactions. According to the provisions of this Act when a property is declared as ‘benami’ it will be acquired by the government without payment of any consideration. Furthermore, persons who are guilty of the offence of a benami transaction would be liable for fine which may extend up to 25% of the fair market value of the property and imprisonment which may extend up to 7 years.

• Fourthly, as the sale and transfer of immovable property is done through a registered document which is governed by the Registration Act, 1908. But the provisions of the statute do not mandate such registration for every transfer. For example transfers such as land acquisition by the government, heirship partition, lease less than one year, court decrees etc. are not required to be registered under the Registration Act, 1908. Consequently, land records do not show that under whose possession the land or property actually is and purpose for searching the records get defeated. 
• Lastly, when a property is transferred or sold, the buyers need to pay registration charges in addition to stamp duty charges, making the cost of transaction exorbitant. That’s why people often avoid transactions of property getting registered. Hence, the data remain undocumented and it becomes impossible to trace a transaction as it was not recorded and registered in the first place.

Conclusion 

No doubt land is the most valuable asset for people; over and above it is the basis of numerous activities which are important for development of a nation whether it be economical or social. Therefore, proper land records are indispensable and access to such land records strengthens the land rights of the general public.

In India, Land and property records can be accessed manually or by online means. One can get these records manually by filing an application with the relevant department in which such records are recorded and maintained. Further, owing to Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) searching for land records became more convenient because of the “anytime anywhere” approach of the scheme. To extract the required records online, one needs to login into official Land record websites of relevant state, enter the valid credentials and then accordingly follow the instructions provided.

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