A family in a mid-sized Indian city had owned what they believed was a clear piece of agricultural land for two decades.
The land appeared in their name in the revenue records. The patta showed them as the occupants. Property tax had been paid in their name every year. Neighbours knew the land as theirs. When a highway project created development potential and they prepared to sell, a title examination for the first time in twenty years revealed what the mutation entry had never disclosed.
The original transaction through which their predecessor had acquired the land involved a general power of attorney sale that had never been converted into a registered conveyance. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Suraj Lamp and Industries Private Limited versus State of Haryana confirmed that such transactions do not transfer title. The family had been in possession for twenty years. They had no legal title.
Dr. Sravan Kumar, author of The Indian Law of Property Due Diligence and Title Examination, documents cases like this throughout his book because the mutation entry illusion is one of the most prevalent and most costly sources of property risk in India.
What mutation actually is and what it is not:
Mutation is the process by which a change of occupant or claimant is recorded in the revenue records following a transaction. It is an administrative act. It updates the revenue register. It confirms who the revenue department recognizes as the current holder for purposes of collecting land revenue and related taxes.
It is not an instrument of transfer. It does not verify the legal validity of the transaction that preceded it. It does not confirm that the person now shown in the revenue record holds clear and marketable title. The Supreme Court has confirmed this position multiple times.
A person can be shown as the current holder in revenue records while simultaneously holding a title that is legally vulnerable, encumbered, or entirely void.
Why the combination of possession, revenue record, and tax payment creates false confidence:
Each of these individually appears to signal ownership. Together they appear to confirm it comprehensively.
Physical possession indicates that the holder is actually occupying or using the land. Revenue records indicate official recognition. Tax payment indicates ongoing engagement with the administrative system.
None of these, individually or together, substitute for a legally verified chain of title through properly executed and registered instruments from a reliable root of title to the present seller. The family in the example above had all three. They had no marketable title.
Dr. Sravan Kumar’s book provides the structured methodology for distinguishing between the appearance of ownership that these factors create and the legal reality of marketable title that proper due diligence verifies.
The Indian Law of Property Due Diligence and Title Examination by Dr. Sravan Kumar is available on Amazon, Flipkart, Kindle, and Google Books. Buy now and understand the legal reality behind the revenue record that appears to confirm your property purchase.
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