The Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887, defines Record of Rights under Section 31. It says that, there shall be record-of-rights for each estate. It is also known as JAMABANDI.
Documents included in the record-of-rights are:
(a) statements showing, so far as may be practicable: -
- the persons who are land-owners, tenants or assignees of land-revenue in the estate or who are entitled to receive any of the rents, profits or produce of the estate or to occupy land therein;
- the nature and extent of the interests of those persons, and the conditions and liabilities attaching thereto;
- the rent, land-revenue, rates, cesses or other payments due from and to each of those persons and to the Government;
(b) a statement of customs respecting rights and liabilities in the estate;
(c) a map of the estate; and
(d) such other documents as the Financial Commissioner may, with the pervious sanction of prescribe.
Here, the Onus(burden) to prove is always on the person to prove, who pleads that the entries are not correct and not on the person in whose favour the entries in the revenue record have been made.
In Jasmer Singh Jaijee and others v. The Financial Commissioner, Punjab and others[1] it was held that Presumption of truth is always attached to the Jamabandi entries, unless the same are got corrected from the Civil Court in accordance with the provisions of Section 45 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act.
In Jattu Ram V. Hakkam Singh and others[2] it was held that The entries made by patwari in official record are only for fiscal purpose, no title is created by them.
In Jagir Singh V. Jagwant Singh[3] it was held that mere recital in the Sale Deed as to transfer of possession is not conclusive, if the actual possession is not reflected in the revenue record nor any application for change of entry to that effect is made for the years together, there is no presumption of delivery of actual physical possession.
Special provision of revision of record-of-rights is also made under section 32 of the Act: -
- when it appears to the 2[Commissioner] that a record-of-right for an estate does not exist, or that the existing record-of-rights for an estate requires special revision, the 2[Commissioner] may by notification direct that a record-of-rights be made or that the record-of-rights be specially revised as the case may be.
- The notification may direct that record-of-rights shall be made or specially revised for all or any estates in any local area.
- A record-of-rights made or specially revised for an estate under this section shall be deemed to be the record-of-rights for the estate, but shall not affect any presumption in favour of the Government which has already arisen from any previous record-of-rights.
What is Annual record?
- The Collector shall cause to be prepared by the patwari of each estate yearly, or at such other intervals as the Financial Commissioner may prescribe, an edition of the record-of-rights amended in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.
- This edition of the record-of-rights shall be called the annual record for the estate, and shall comprise the statements mentioned in sub-section (2), clause (a), of section 31 and such other documents, if any, as the Financial Commissioner may, with the previous sanction of the 1[State Government] prescribe.
- For the purposes of the preparation of the annual record, the Collector shall cause to be kept up by the patwari of each estate a register of mutations and such other registers as the Financial Commissioner May Prescribe.
Procedure for making records
Making of that part of the annual record which relates to land-owners, assignee of revenue and occupancy tenants( Section 34 of the Act)
- Any person acquiring, by inheritance, purchase, mortgage, or otherwise, any right in an estate as a land-owner, assignee of land-revenue or tenant having a right of occupancy, shall report his acquisition of the right to the patwari of the estate.
- If the person acquiring the right is a minor or otherwise disqualified, his guardian or other person having charge of his property shall make the report to the patwari.
- The patwari shall enter in his register of mutations every report made to him under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), and shall also make an entry therein respecting the acquisition of any such right as aforesaid which he has reason to believe to have taken place, and of which a report should have been made to him under one or other of those sub-sections and has not been so made.
- A Revenue-officer shall from time to time inquire into the correctness of all entries in the register of mutations and into all such acquisitions as aforesaid coming to his knowledge of which, under the foregoing sub-sections, report should have been made to the patwari and entry made in that register and shall in each case make such order as he thinks fit with respect to the entry in the annual record of the right acquired.
- Such an entry shall be made by the insertion in that record of description of the right acquired and by the omission from that record of any entry in any record previously prepared which by reason of the acquisition has ceased to be correct.
Making of that part of the annual record which relates to other persons( Section 35 of the Act): -
The acquisition of any interest in land other than a right refered to in sub-section (1) of the last foregoing section shall: -
- if it is undisputed, be recorded by the patwari in such manner as the Financial Commissioner may by rule in this behalf prescribe; and
- if it is disputed, be entered by the patwari in the register of mutations and dealt with in the manner prescribed in sub-sections (4) and (5) of the last foregoing section.
Determination of disputes( Section 36)
- If during the making, revision or preparation of any record or in the course of any inquiry under this Chapter a dispute arises as to any matter of which an entry is to be made in a record or in a register of mutations, a Revenue-officer may, of his own motion, or on the application of any party interested but subject to the provisions of the next following section, and after such inquiry as he thinks fit, determine the entry to be made as to that matter.
- If any such dispute the Revenue-officer is unable to satisfy himself as to which of the parties thereto is in possession of any property to which the dispute relates, he shall ascertain by summary inquiry who is the person best entitled to the property, and shall by order direct that person be put in possession thereof, and that an entry in accordance with that order be made in the record or register.
- A direction of a Revenue-officer under sub-section (2) shall be subject to any decree or order which may be subsequently passed by any Court of competent jurisdiction.
Restrictions on variations of entries in records(Section 37): -
Entries in record-of-rights or in annual records, except entries made in annual records by Patwaris under clause (a) of section 35 with respect to undisputed acquisitions of interest refered to in that section, shall not be varied in subsequent records otherwise than by–
- making entries in accordance with facts proved or admitted to have occurred;
- making such entries as are agreed to by all the parties interested therein or are supported by a decree or order binding on those parties;
- making new maps where it is necessary to make them.
Section 40 of the Act says Any person whose rights, interests or liabilities are required to be entered in any record under this Chapter shall be bound to furnish, on the requisition of any Revenue-officer or village-officer engaged in compiling the record, all information necessary for the correct compilation thereof.
Presumption as to ownership of forests, quarries and waste lands(Section 40 of the Act): -
- when in any record-of-rights completed before the eighteenth day of November, 1871, it is not expressly provided that any forest, quarry, unclaimed, unoccupied, deserted or waste-land, spontaneous produce or other accessory interest in land belongs to the [Government].
- when in any record-of-rights completed after the date it is not expressly provided that any forest or quarry or any such land or interest belongs to the 1[Government], it shall be presumed to belong to the landowners.
- The presumption created by sub-section (1) may be rebutted by showing–
- from the records or report made by the assessing officer at the time of assessment; or
- if the record or report, is silent, then from a comparison between the assessment of villages in which there existed, and the assessment of villages of similar character in which there did not exist, any forest or quarry, or any such land or interest, that the forest, quarry, land or interest was taken into account in the assessment of the land-revenue.
- Until the presumption is so rebutted, the forest, quarry, land or interest shall be held to belong to the Government.
[1] 2007(1) L.A.R. 664(P&H)
[2] AIR 1994 SC 1653
[3] 2002(2) RCR (Civil) 93