Revenue Records: Can they confer Title?
In the era of the barter system, a share of the agricultural produce waspaid as tax. With the introduction of the modern currency, land revenue wascollected in monetary form. While this system was followed by the lastgeneration of Mughals and Nawabs, however their maintenance was irregular andunsystematic. In the early 19th century, a comprehensive land surveywas conducted across India under the British rule, which resulted in thepreparation of the revenue record known as the ‘Great Trigonometrical Survey’.Based on the previous surveys, the then unified Government of Andhra Pradeshconducted a survey and settlement in 1940. Initially, a survey of all lands wasundertaken, and village maps were prepared across the undivided regions. Whatfollowed was a detailed settlement exercise which recorded land details such asthe nature of land, ownership, and extent of holdings, etc. In Telangana, itwas termed as ‘Sethwar’, whereas in Andhra region, it was known as the ‘Re-SettlementRegister’. These formed the foundation for revenue records that came later.
Revenue Records[1] form the cornerstone of landadministration, yet their role in conferring title over a property remainswidely debated. In Telangana, these records list critical data pertaining tothe possession, tenure, and use of land, including survey numbers along withsub-divisions, khata numbers, name of the pattadar/possessor/protected tenants,land classification, crop type, and assessment values etc. The primary objective of maintaining revenue records is to facilitate theassessment and collection of land revenue based on the information provided insuch records. This article examines the principal revenue records of Telanganaand judicial decisions to understand the extent to which courts have attributedlegal weight to ownership entries in revenue records for the purpose ofconferring title.
Crucial revenue records in Telangana
- Sethwar: It serves as the foundational document among revenue records, which contains the name of the khatadar, survey number, extentof land, and its nature (whether government or patta). If there are any changesin the classification of land or extent, a supplementary sethwar is prepared toupdate the record.
- Khasra Pahani: Introduced in 1954, khasra records information pertaining to the name of the pattadar (recordedlandholder), the extent of land, and the details of pote karab[2]etc.
- Sesala Pahani: The Sesala Pahani was compiled for the years 1955 to 1958 which primarily focuses on agricultural details, specifically related to the six crop seasons of the year, inclding information regardingthe Protected Tenant recorded during this period.
- Wasool Baqui: This revenue record serves as a correlation register, linking the details of old and new survey number and extent for each village.
- Faisal Patti: This document records changesin the pattadar or extent of land arising from succession, partition, or otherlawful alterations.
Amongst the records forming the backbone of land administration, the Recordof Rights (ROR) plays a vital role in tracing ownership. This is aperiodic document prepared every ten years. Notably, these records were preparedfor the period of 1979 to 1980 and 1989 to 1990. This record reflects any variationin ownership, extent or interest in land created by way of purchase,succession, creation of mortgage, or recognition of a the right of a protectedtenant.
Building upon this framework of ownership and possession, the Protect Tenancy Register was introduced to record the rights of cultivators who cultivated such land fora continuous period of:
- notless than six years, being a period in the years 1932 to 1942;
- orfor a period of not less than six years immediately preceding the 1stday of January, 1948;
- orfor a period of not less than six years commencing not earlier than 6thOctober, 1943.
such cultivators are recognised as “Protected Tenants”[3] and are recorded in the Protected Tenancy Register. Under section 38-E(1)of the Telangana Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1950 a ProtectedTenant shall be deemed to be the full owner of such lands, where the governmentmay, by notification in the Telangana Gazette, declare in respect of any areaand from such date as may be specified therein, that ownership of all landsheld Protected Tenants which they are entitled to purchase from theirland-holder in such area shall, subject to the condition land down insub section (7). In V. Ramaswamy v. The State of Telangana[4]the Court recognised that Section 38-E(1) of the Telangana Tenancy andAgricultural Lands Act, 1950 and its proviso empower the tahsildar to vest ownership rights in a protectedtenant and to restore possession if the land is occupied by third parties. TheCourt held that even though Section 38-E contains no prescribed limitationperiod, statutory powers must still be exercised within a “reasonable time.”
6. Pahanis:It is a revenue recordthat provides information about the agricultural land, nature of land (likegovernment, inam or patta), ownership, usage of land, etc.
Evolving interpretation of land Records
Judicial interpretation has consistently emphasised that the revenuerecords serve as records of rights and are admissible evidence ofpossession and ownership, but they do not, by themselves, confer, create, orextinguish title over land. Title must arise from an independent legal sourcesuch as a registered sale deed, grant, or statutory vesting.
In Ande Gagaiah v. M. Krishna Reddy[5], the Telangana High Courtheld that entries in the revenue records neither confer any rights nor extinguishany right existing in a rightful owner. Similarly, in Union of India v. Pramod Gupta[6], the Hon’bleSupreme Court held that “no title can be claimed based on an entry made inthe revenue records as the burden lies on the grantee to establish that ownershipwas validly conveyed to him by the owner thereof”. Furthermore, the Supreme Court in the State of Haryana v. Amin Lal[7], held that,“it is true that the revenue entries do not by themselves confer title, theyare admissible as evidence of possession and can support a claim of ownershipby other evidence”. On Bhu Bharati (formerly Dharani Portal) which is the current digital revenuerecord, the Court in Sri Venkateshwara Developers v. Arepally Jeevan Rao[8] observed that entries in the pahani (land details search) in Dharani are not independently sustainable in law and the portal serves merely as an administrative tool ofthe government, and for judicial purposes, the Court must consider thepleadings in the plaint and the contents of the agreement of sale.
Conclusion
The settled legal position emanating from extensive judicial pronouncements establishes that revenue records, including mutation entries and digital records,do not confer, create, or extinguish title to land. Their value is fundamentally administrative: they enable the state to assess revenue, recordpossession, and manage land holdings, but they do not operate as proof orsources of title. Such entries carry only evidentiary value when corroboratedby substantive documentary evidence, such as registered sale deeds or othertitle documents.
References
[1] Revenue records generally refer to such public documents maintained byrevenue authorities that record the status of land, including possession,classification, ownership claims, and mutation entries. The article (undercrucial revenue records) attempts to cover revenue records maintained inTelangana.
[2] ‘Pot Kharab’ is the land that is unfit for agricultural activity. Itdenotes the non-cultivable area within the agricultural landholding of aPattadar
[3] Section 34 (1) of the Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Tenancy andAgriculture Land Act, 1950.
[4] MANU/TL/0593/2021
[5] 2010 (1) ALT 204
[6] AIR 2005 SC 3708
[7] MANU/SC/1221/2024
[8] MANU/TL/1419/2022