Land Administration in India

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The present system of the Land Administration in India was established by the British about 250 years ago. Though the Indian registration system is classified as a deed registration system, it has certain unique features that give it an edge over a classical deed registration system. This article contains a brief overview of the land administration system in India.

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Land is a crucial factor for all economic activities in a country, such as agriculture, industrialization, urbanization, housing, and infrastructure development. It also plays a key role in strategies for poverty alleviation, food security, and social justice. Therefore, a good land administration system is essential for economic growth and providing social justice to the weaker section of society.

Land administration is defined as the process of determining, recording, and publishing information about people’s rights to land. It includes cadastral surveys, documentation of land rights, registration of land transactions, and resolution of disputes.

Historical Context

Historically, land administration has been a vital function for rulers because most of their revenue came from taxes on agricultural land. The collection of land revenue was the main incentive for rulers to establish land administration systems. Control over land was also a crucial source of political power. For example, the real political power of the East India Company began when it got the rights to collect land revenue in Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha from the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II after his defeat in the Battle of Buxar in 1765. This power to collect land revenue led to the gradual increase of financial resources and political power of the East India Company, which ultimately resulted in British rule over the whole of India.

With this background, let me discuss the present land administration system in India. In India, there are two subsystems of keeping records of ownership and other rights in land viz. the Record of Rights and the Registration of Deeds.

Record of Rights

Record of Rights is actually an Indian Cadastre, though the term ‘cadastre’ is not commonly used in India. It was introduced by the British in 1822 in the United Provinces. After that, it was adopted in all the provinces under British rule.

This record is maintained by the state Revenue Departments under the provisions of state-specific land revenue laws. These laws follow a similar pattern throughout the country with minor variations from state to state. Unfortunately, in the past 200 years, hardly any change has been made in land revenue laws.

The Revenue Department has a hierarchy of officials such as Patwari (or Talati), Kanungo, Tehsildar, (or Talukdar, Mauzadar), Sub-divisional Officer, Collector, Commissioner etc. They perform various functions relating to land administration as per the provisions of the relevant laws.

The Record of Rights has two parts: a cadastral map and a set of registers documenting land rights and other details of land. Cadastral maps prepared by the revenue department are different from topographical maps of the Survey of India. A topographical map shows only point locations of geographical features, but a cadastral map shows the boundaries of each parcel of land. With the help of a cadastral map, the boundaries of a land parcel can be demarcated on the ground. Every parcel of land is given a unique identity number, and rights are recorded in the registers with reference to this unique identity number. The register, which documents ownership and other land rights, is known by different names across various states, such as Jamabandi in Punjab, Adangal in Andhra Pradesh, Khattian in West Bengal and Khatauni in Uttar Pradesh.

Thus, rights over a particular land parcel can be easily identified through the Record of Rights. Further, the boundaries of land parcels can be demarcated on the ground with the help of cadastral maps. Record of Rights, thus, serves as a title register for all practical purposes. However, entries in the Record of Rights are not conclusive proof of title as it is in Title Registration Systems of some countries.

Updating of Record of Rights

This record is regularly updated following procedures laid down in the law. Whenever there is a change in rights due to sale, gift, or inheritance, a rightsholder is required by law to inform a designated official about the acquisition of a right by him. The designated official holds a quasi-judicial inquiry and records the names of new right-holders. This process is called mutation.

Legal Standing of Record of Rights

The Record of Rights is a crucial document for determining ownership and other rights to a parcel of land. Legally, the entries in the Record of Rights are presumed to be true until proved wrong. Therefore, the Record of Rights is considered a good evidence of ownership and other rights over land. However, an aggrieved person can challenge an entry before designated authorities of the Revenue Department or in a civil court. The Record of Rights is corrected as per the decision of such authorities or the court.

Purpose of Record of Rights

The main purpose of introducing the Record of Rights was to maximize the collection of land revenue, which formed 60% of the total revenue of the British government. Now, land revenue makes a very insignificant contribution to the state exchequer and therefore, there is no justification for maintaining the record of rights for this purpose alone. Presently, the Record of Rights is maintained as a service to people. It helps landowners in the sale and purchase of land, demarcation of boundaries of their lands, resolving land disputes and obtaining bank loans. Further, the Record of Rights provides very useful data for implementing many government programs, such as granting ownership rights to tenants on agricultural land, distributing land to the landless, estimating agricultural production, providing subsidies on agricultural inputs to farmers, crop insurance, and housing grants to houseless people.

Deed Registration

Now let’s talk about the deed registration which is done under the provisions of the Registration Act of 1908. Under this act, deeds relating to transactions in immovable property, such as sales, gifts, mortgages, and long-term leases, are registered in the office of a registrar or a sub-registrar.

History

The registration of deeds was first introduced in the Bengal Presidency in 1793 by the British. Shortly thereafter, registration was also introduced in the Madras Presidency and the Bombay Presidency. The objectives of introducing registration were to provide security of title to the person acquiring property, prevent fraud in property transactions, and preserve authentic copies of deeds to avoid future litigation. At that time, registration of deeds was not compulsory, but a strong legal rule gave priority to registered deeds. The registration of a deed invalidated any other unregistered deed in respect of the same property, whether executed before or after the registered deed. Thus, registering a deed protected a person against fraudulent unregistered transactions concerning the same property.

A significant change in the law on the registration of deeds came with the Indian Registration Act of 1866. This Act made the registration of certain transactions, like sales, gifts, and mortgages, compulsory. Such transactions were legally invalid if not registered. This Act was replaced by the Indian Registration Act of 1871, which was again replaced by the Indian Registration Act of 1877. Finally, the Registration Act of 1908 was enacted which is currently in force.

It is compulsory to register most property transactions, such as sales, gifts, long-term leases and mortgages under the Registration Act. Certain transactions, such as transfers through inheritance, family settlements, leases of property up to one year, transfers of property through a court decree, and grants of land by the government, are exempt from registration.

Registrars

State governments appoint registrars and sub-registrars in each district to register deeds as per provisions of the Registration Act. Generally, the Collector of a district is appointed as Registrar, and a sufficient number of sub-registrars are appointed who work under the supervision of the Registrar. To register a transaction, the parties sign a deed containing the details and terms of transfer of that property. Then the parties appear before a sub-registrar and present the deed for registration. The sub-registrar examines the deed to ensure that it is presented within the prescribed time limit and contains all details as per the Registration Act. Then, he verifies the identity of the parties and also inquires whether the deed has actually been signed by them. Once satisfied, he records a registration certificate on the deed and retains a copy in his office for future reference.

Legal Standing of Registration

First, registering a deed has the effect of giving notice to everyone interested in that property. This is so because the record of registration is open to the public. Anyone can see this record and obtain copies following the prescribed procedure. Secondly, if a compulsorily registrable transaction is not registered, it is considered invalid. An unregistered deed for such a transaction is not accepted in a court of law as evidence. Thirdly, registration of a deed serves as evidence that a transaction has taken place concerning the property as mentioned in the deed.

However, registration of a deed has certain limitations. While it is good evidence of the transaction, it is not conclusive proof that the title of the property has been transferred to the transferee. For example, A sells a plot to C through a registered sale deed, hiding the fact that half of the land belonged to his brother B. In this case, the purchaser C will not become the owner of the full plot just by registration of the sale deed. Regardless of what is written in the sale deed, C will become the owner of only half of the land that was under A's ownership. Such a situation arises because, as per the Registration Act, the registrar is not required to investigate the title of the seller. It is the responsibility of the purchaser to inspect all relevant records of the property to ensure that the seller has a good title. Another limitation is that, in most cases, a cadastral map of the property is not attached to the deed. Therefore, the boundaries of the property cannot be demarcated using the registered deed alone.

As mentioned before, many transactions, such as inheritance and family settlements, do not require registration. Therefore, such transactions do not appear in the record of the registrar. Consequently, the record of the registrar does not provide a complete picture of land ownership. In contrast, the Record of Rights gives a more comprehensive view of land ownership and other rights.

Civil Courts

After discussing the Record of Rights and the deed registration, I’d like to touch on the role of civil courts in land administration. As discussed earlier, ownership and other land rights are recorded in the Record of Rights after an inquiry by the revenue officer. An entry in the Record of Rights is presumed true unless proven otherwise. However, the final adjudication of land rights can be done only by a civil court. For instance, A sells land to C, hiding ownership of his brother B on half of the plot, and C gets his name recorded in the Record of Rights as the owner of the full plot.  In such a situation, B would have to go to the civil court to claim his ownership of half of the plot. The revenue officer will correct the Record of Rights based on the order of a civil court. Thus, in case of dispute, the final adjudication of land rights comes within the purview of a civil court.

Conclusion

To summarize, land administration includes cadastral surveys, documentation of land rights, registration of land transactions, and resolution of disputes. India has two sub-systems for maintaining land records- record of rights and deed registration. The record of rights gives a more comprehensive picture of people’s rights over land. Entries in the record of rights are presumed true until proved wrong. Deed registration creates evidence of transaction but is not conclusive proof of transfer of title. Civil courts have the final authority to adjudicate in cases of dispute over rights in land. Records are corrected as per the decision of the civil court.